Timelock House
by Thunder Croft
Summary: Three eras and 3 families are tied together by a dead female ghost. Amy Rose was killed in 1931 and Rouge is determined to find the truth about her death. Silver and Blaze in 1972 are being warned that the house is haunted but decide to face the consequences. 2013...Sonic and Tails face the ghost; problems arise when Amy mistakes Sonic for her old lover. Will Amy's ghost ever rest?
1. This is just the beginning

**A/C : Inspired by Lightfields and Marchlands. Enjoy and please review your opinions!**

**Chapter 1 – This is just the beginning**

There was something different in the wind that day.

She could feel it.

But she didn't mention it.

...

It all happened so fast. Things were fine and normal...and then they found her.

To everyone's surprise, he was in despair more than anyone. He had screamed when he saw her bloody body, limp against the cold concrete.

He had even cried.

Everyone had just said she had fallen from the balcony. It was high up, granted, and it did look like she had fallen.

An accident, they called it.

But there was something odd about it.

Something seemed off.

**(...1931...)**

"Amy! I need your help with something!"

Gingerly, Amy stepped into the grand bedroom. An ivory bat was standing opposite a mirror, wearing a beautiful long pink dress which reached the floor. It came off her shoulders, slightly, to reveal her beautiful clear skin.

"Mistress Rouge?" Amy curtsied to her mistress. It was just something she had always done. Amy was a sucker for manners.

Rouge laughed, "Amy! I've told you before! You don't need to be so formal with me! And please...call me Rouge!"

Amy blushed, "Okay...Rouge..."

The bat shot her a warm smile, before gesturing at the dress, "Thank you. Now, do you think this is appropriate for this evening?"

"You look beautiful, mistress Rouge. I mean...Rouge,"

"Thank you," Rouge began to sort out her hair, twirling it up into a bun and holding it in place, "Could you clip this together for me?"

Doing as she was told, the pink hedgehog grabbed two hair pins from the side and slid them into Rouge's white hair – making it sturdy and unable to flop into a mess. Rouge let go of her hair and admired herself in the mirror.

"Thank you. This party is unbelievably stupid. But, I must do as I am told. Women still don't have equal rights, if you ask me," Rouge moaned, twirling around the room.

Amy didn't say anything. From her perspective, Rouge was lucky. She was rich, secure and had everything she could wish for. Amy, meanwhile, had nothing. She had to work just to keep her family alive. And she couldn't even stay with her family.

But, then again, being a maid wasn't that bad.

And people thought you were lucky if you even got a glimpse of Timelock House. Let alone becoming a maid there.

So, all in all, life wasn't too terrible.

Yet.

**(...1972...)**

"I can't believe we landed a place like this..."

A silver hedgehog smiled at his wife, "Believe it, Blaze. We got landed with a place like this,"

The couple was standing outside the house – staring at it. It was huge: a massive brown brickwork mansion which stretched out across the driveway. It was situated a little while away from the city, but not too far, so the surroundings were nice and quiet. The house had a gravel path which led down to the iron metal gates – which opened up onto the road. There were trees dotted around the house, decoratively.

"This is the perfect place for us to have our family," The female lavender cat wrapped an arm around her husband, patting her 28-weeks-pregnant-bump, "I just can't get over how big it is for such a cheap price, Silver!"

Silver shrugged, "I'm not sure. The owner claimed that a few of the other owners had been scared off,"

"Scared off? How?"

"He didn't say," Silver laughed, "But I don't believe that. Maybe the decor scared them off?"

Blaze laughed along with him, "In that case, I think you're going to be doing some serious decorating!"

"Thanks. I'll look forward to that," Silver turned back to the red Austin Mini Cooper which was parked in the driveway, "I know you can't lift much – but could you bring the littler, lighter things? Like the ornaments?"

"Of course," Blaze tucked a black box under her arm and pulled the house keys from her handbag, "What was the name of this house again?"

Silver grunted as he lifted a heavy TV onto his shoulders, and turned to face the house again, "Urgh...Timelock, I think,"

"Well," Blaze smiled, "I think Timelock House is going to be the start of something very different,"

And how right they were.

**(...2013...)**

"Remind me again...why are we staying here?"

An orange twin tailed fox rolled his eyes, "We need to stay here for a while because the workshop is being repaired. I've told you this about...eight times, Sonic!"

The cobalt hedgehog shrugged, "Yeah well, I was looking at the house. It's kinda interesting, don't cha think?"

"I'm not sure..." The fox shivered, "It gives me the creeps,"

Sonic zoomed over to the young male and placed an arm around his shoulders, "Don't worry, Tails. We'll be gone in a few weeks. And in the mean time, we can check this place out. It's really old. I bet it has some cool mystery or history tied to it!"

"Just because you're a hero," Tails chuckled, "Doesn't mean everything has to be interesting or different!"

"I'm well travelled," Sonic smirked, "Which means I know a creepy house when I see one! And this place is making my weird-alarm go crazy!"

"Weird alarm?"

"Yep. I bet this place is haunted or something!"

Tails gulped, "I hope not. And besides, the owner didn't say anything about it being haunted,"

"Ever heard of a thing called lying, Tails?"

"Ha ha," Tails pouted, sourly, "All I'm saying is, there is no reason for us to think that this place is haunted,"

"Fine," Sonic glanced around the room. They were standing in, what appeared to be, a living room. However, it was twice the size of your average one. Almost as if it was meant to be a ballroom or something.

"I guess we should start unpacking our stuff," Tails suggested, wandering out into the hall to reach the front door, "All the stuff is in the Blue Typhoon. Even though you refused to fly in it,"

"What can I say? I love to run!"

Tails chuckled again, "Well, since this is a massive house, you'll get lots of chances to run around. Now, come and help me unload your stuff!"

"You mean your stuff," Sonic tapped his foot against the floor and folded his arms, "You're the one who insisted on bringing ALL your inventions,"

"They're important!"

"Look, bud," Sonic raced over to the open door, "You need to get out the house more and get a bit more of a social life,"

"Oh, shut up!" Tails smiled, running after his blue friend to the plane.

Even though this place gave him the creeps.

**(...1931...)**

Leaving Rouge to sort herself out, Amy rushed downstairs to help with the preparations for this evening. She hadn't been told what the celebration was – but she wanted to help out in any way she could.

"Amy!" A faint voice called to her as she entered the living room. It had been converted into a ball room for this party and the other servants were rushing around – placing vases and decorations on the elegant tables dotted around the room.

The rabbit who had called Amy skipped over to her, with a glass vase in her delicate hands, "You're here! Great! You can help me to sort out this vase. I need to go and collect some flowers from the fields outside the city. Would you like to come?"

Amy smiled. This was her best friend. Cream the rabbit. She was a few years younger than Amy – around the age of 14. She was wearing the same grey maid's dress as Amy, with a white pinafore at the front, because she was of the same status as Amy. The two had become close friends after meeting.

"I'd love to come!" Amy giggled, brushing a loose hair behind her ears, "I'll grab some flower cutters so we can pick them easily!"

Cream smiled back, "I'll meet you outside the house!"

And with that, she rushed off.

Wanting to get away and just spend an afternoon in the flower fields with Cream, Amy ran as fast as she could down to the shed in the back garden. It was musty and dirty, but Amy ignored the cobwebs and spiders before finding the cutters. They were rusting slightly, but she didn't think that would matter too much.

She was just about to leave the house when she slammed into a passing hedgehog.

"Oh my!" She blushed, helping up the fallen figure, "I wasn't looking where I was going! I am so sorry! I just didn't..."

"It's okay, Amy," The hedgehog smirked, "I was lost in my own world too,"

It was him. The master of the house.

But he was mainly known as a heart throb by the maids of the house.

It was no secret. Everyone that Amy had met thought that he was gorgeous. He was everything that a girl would want in a man – kind, interesting, funny, handsome, mysterious.

Although, the shallow girls liked him because he was rich.

Amy hated to admit it, but she was an admirer in a long line of girls. She had developed feelings for him over the time she had worked here. But she liked him for him. Not his money. He was just incredible to talk to. Even for a moment.

Not that Amy had ever tried.

But she was no different. No one would dare try and flirt with him – since he was married.

To Rouge the bat.

"I am sorry, sir," Amy hung her head low, feeling stupid. However, she was more shocked when he placed a hand under her chin and raised her head.

"Don't worry," He shot her a heart melting smile, which made Amy's legs go weak. The simple feeling of his hand on her face was mind blowing. His heat was spreading through her body and it was just like the stories. She felt like sparks were flying, "And please. Call me Shadow. Rouge has informed me of your manners – and they are very admirable. But you do not need to be so formal with us. You can call us by our first names, Amy,"

Amy gave a brisk nod, feeling a slight amount of disappointment when Shadow placed his hand back down by his side, "R-Rouge spoke of me?"

"Yes," Shadow grinned, "She's taken a liking to you. Just don't let her get too bossy. You know what she's like,"

Amy stifled a laugh – not wanting to be horrible about Rouge. She was nice; just a tad vain.

"I won't," The pink hedgehog smiled, brightly, "And I must go now, sir. Goodbye Shadow,"

"I trust that you will be back in time for this evening?" The ebony hedgehog watched, intently, as Amy dashed for the entrance.

"I will!" She called, before disappearing out of the door.

Shadow sighed to himself. That hedgehog really was something quite special. Was it bad that he felt a kind of longing towards her?

That was the first time they had properly spoken.

The ebony hedgehog felt pleased that he had finally made himself known to the beautiful pink goddess.

Amy had been working here for around a month now. And from the first day she had arrived, Shadow had thought she was special. He had kept an eye on her from afar – and it was only now that he had made conversation with her. She was just as amazing and pretty as she had hoped.

He wanted to tell her. He wanted her to love him back. But he couldn't.

Because of this stupid marriage.

And the ironic thing? No one except Rouge, Shadow and their parents knew that it wasn't even a wanted marriage.

It had been arranged.

Without Shadow's consent.


	2. Too young to die

**Helloooooo!**

**Wow, I'm on a roll with my stories today! But this story has definitely got me inspired. I've been watching Marchlands and Lightfields lately, along with the film: Fallen, so...paranormal stories are interesting for me, lately!**

**Many thanks to: **MelonLordXD, Savvy0417, ShadowsAngel1, Poetic Gamer, Quillink14! **You guys are awesome! :D**

**Oh, **ShadowsAngel1 – **Yep, you're not the only one who watches it! :D My mum was actually the one who got me hooked on it! Lightfields ending was sad, don't cha think?**

**Anyway, in this chapter we see a little more into the plot! Enjoy and please review your comments! T.C.**

Chapter 2 – Too young to die...

**(...1931...)**

"What do you think of Mr Shadow?"

Amy's head snapped in the direction of Cream. Why would she ask that? And, more importantly, why was that comment making Amy's blush so hard.

"He's...Shadow," Amy's blushed harder, remembering the way he smiled at her, "Why do you ask, Creamy?"

"Oh..." It was Cream's turn to blush, "I just over heard the girls talking about him. They said that he's mysterious. Even mistress Rouge doesn't know everything about him. I just wanted to know what you think of him and if you know anything about him,"

"Well," Amy picked a white lily, twirling it in her hand. The meadow was bright and beautiful – with the grass twinkling in the sunlight and waving in the breeze. The light was dappled on Amy's light skin and her eyes were shining brightly, "He's, according to rumour, a soldier. But he hasn't seen any action yet. Other than that...I don't know anything about him,"

"Do you think he's good looking?" Cream blurted out, staring at the collection of lilies, roses, daffodils, poppies and tulips which the girls had collected. Amy was holding them, carefully.

Amy laughed, "Creamy...do you like Shadow?"

"N-no..."

"You do!" Amy giggled dancing with Cream in the grass, "You like Shadow!"

"Amy! Keep quiet!" Cream whispered, forcefully, "I don't want everyone to hear!"

Amy frowned, "Why? Everyone likes Shadow! He's the village heart throb. Which means everyone has fallen for him. He's good looking, mysterious and dark. What's not to like?"

"So...you like him too?"

Amy gulped, "Well...he's not all that...and he certainly wouldn't like a girl like me. He'd be more interested in you than me..."

"Oh, come on, Amy!" Cream's expression hardened, "All guys like you! You're mature, got a lovely figure and are drop dead gorgeous! Of course he'd like you! And I'm too young for someone like him!"

"Cream..." Amy soothed, "He's married to Rouge. He wouldn't want to walk out with either of us. I think we both have to accept that. I thought you would have understood that,"

Cream's eyes scanned the scene before she bent towards Amy, "Well, I heard something else. Apparently, he didn't want the marriage,"

Amy's eyes widened, "What?"

"It was arranged by Rouge's and Shadow's parents," Cream gripped Amy's arm, "But you must promise not to tell anyone! Swear it on the ground you stand on!"

"I swear," Amy mumbled, not believing what she heard. Shadow's marriage was arranged? He didn't love Rouge? But, he acted like he did!

Maybe he's a very good liar.

Was there anything else he was lying about?

"So, you do have a chance with him..." Cream blinked, innocently, looking upset.

Amy grabbed her in a massive hug, "But I'm not going to take it. You like him? Then I'm not going to take him away from you. That's what friends are for,"

"Thank you, Amy!" Cream squealed, "But I don't think I'm going to try and walk out with him,"

"So admire him from afar!" Amy suggested, feeling guilty, "Just know that I don't like him,"

"You do..."

"Well, I'm going to set my sights on someone else! Shadow's not the only guy on the planet!"

Amy might have been saying this – but that didn't make it true. Shadow was different to any guy she had ever met. He was just so unique! How could you not like the guy? He was sculpted like a Greek god! He had a confident smile which sent a shiver up Amy's spine and dazzling eyes which looked like they could outshine a ruby.

"Oh no!" Cream squeaked, racing to the nearest tree and hiding behind it. Amy was about to ask her why she was hiding when a hand tapped her shoulder. She spun around.

"Miss Rose?" Shadow was standing in front of her, enticing as usual.

"Shadow!" Amy blushed a pretty pink, "I was just picking flowers for this evening,"

"Ah," Shadow smiled, making Amy's heart soar, "So, you are coming tonight?"

"Well...as a maid..." Amy looked down, feeling inferior.

"I meant as a guest,"

The pink hedgehog's head shot up, "A...guest?"

"I would like to have you as my guest,"

"Oh! My...well, I'm n-not sure if I would feel comfortable coming as a guest..."

Shadow looked disappointed, "It would mean the world to me. And I guarantee that you would be most interesting of company,"

"Then..." Amy glanced back at the oak tree which was hiding Cream. She felt bad for what she was about to do next, "...I will come as your guest,"

"Great," Shadow smiled, taking her hand and giving it a small squeeze, "I will see you there,"

Without another word, he strolled down the path.

Amy braced herself for what was coming next.

"I told you that you liked Shadow!" Cream fumed, "Why couldn't you just admit it?"

"Cream...I didn't want to hurt you..."

"You hurt me more by lying!" The rabbit sniffed, crushing the flowers in her hand, "Why can you never be honest with me!?"

Amy sank to the ground, feeling the flowers tickle her bare skin as Cream ran off. She would have said no to Shadow...but that would be rude.

_Face it, Amy_, the pink hedgehog thought, miserably; _you didn't turn it down because you didn't want to miss this chance of impressing Shadow._

A tear dripped onto the flowers beneath her, as a sob escaped her lips. She didn't know who to choose: Cream or Shadow?

It was so unfair. Cream was her best friend – but Amy could always sense resentment between the two of them. And Shadow was amazing – but he was married, even if it might be arranged.

And Rouge was her friend too. If Rouge did love Shadow...Amy could never fall in love with Shadow, too. And besides...Amy didn't want to risk losing her job over some boy.

A really...cute boy...

Wishing that her mother was here, Amy trudged along the path. The sky was clear and bright, completely different to her mood. She could see Timelock House appearing in the distance – and the city of London was even further away.

People were starting to flock towards the house for the party. People from the village – which was situated a couple of miles down the road, in the opposite direction to London. Amy didn't know them that well, but she was starting to wonder if this party was even worth going to.

With a heavy heart, Amy began to run towards the house. If she was going to make an appearance, she would need a serious style change.

(...1972...)

"Today's been a long day," Silver sighed, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. He was glad to be resting in bed with Blaze by his side.

"At least we've finally sorted everything out," Blaze smiled, ruffling her hair, "The house looks more like home, now,"

"Yeah. Even though half the rooms are empty,"

"We can find something to put in them. Maybe we could even use the empty rooms to bring more money into the house,"

Silver sat up, curious, "How?"

"We could use them as a hostel. People can stay for a couple of nights and pay us. It'll be a great way for paying the mortgage!"

"Maybe we should talk about this in the morning," Silver suggested, feeling reluctant to having strangers in the house – especially with his wife. When she wasn't...well, pregnant, she could handle herself. He should know.

But things were different now.

"Okay, Silv. Night," Blaze switched the bedside lamp off, closing her eyes and feeling safe with Silver next to her. Ten years ago, she would never have predicted that she would be where she was now. It was only six years ago that Silver the hedgehog had proposed to her. And then, 3 months ago, they decided they were going to start trying for a baby.

It was her dream life.

And this house would only strengthen that dream.

It couldn't get any better.

(...)

The light stung her eyes and she, groggily, opened her eyelids. The window had been opened to clear the air and the birds were tweeting outside. Blaze sighed, happily, and stretched her arms out. She was surprised to see that Silver wasn't there.

Sitting up, the lavender cat felt her hand crush against a crumpled piece of paper. Silver's swooping handwriting was written on the paper.

'_Gone to village to find out more about your hostel idea. Will be back in a while. We're out of milk and eggs. I'll pick them up. Be careful, okay? S.T.H xxx'_

"You worry too much, Silv," Blaze muttered, still grinning. She groaned as she stood up and began to pull on her drab stretchy black tunic. She would much rather wear her usual white trousers, white top and purple jacket –but that was out of the question. Unfortunately.

Pulling on some elasticised black leggings, she tied a purple sash around her body – under her chest and over her bump. If she had to wear boring clothes, the least she could do was make it 2% more stylish.

Since there was barely anything in the fridge, Blaze decided to wander down to the village and get some breakfast. It wasn't that far and the walk would be good for her. It also helped that it was a sunny day outside.

Slowly making her way down the grand staircase, Blaze placed her hand on the spiral handrail. It was cold to touch but looked amazing. Plant shapes were carved into the white marble and the stairs were also made from the marble, too.

At the bottom of the stairs, the front door was directly in front of her. The massive living room was directly to her right and the kitchen was to her left. Silver had left Blaze's pair of keys to the house on the table next to the front door. He knew she loved to explore new places.

Blaze grabbed the keys and pulled the door open. She stepped outside when she heard a faint female giggle.

There was no one there.

With a frown imprinted on her face, Blaze shrugged it off.

She was probably mishearing things.

**(...2013...)**

"I'm so bored!"

"Sonic..."

"Tails?"

"...please find something to do and stop bugging me,"

The cobalt hedgehog rolled his eyes. It wasn't his fault that there was nothing to do. And he got bored easily. After five laps of the house, nothing interesting had caught his eye.

Maybe this place wasn't as interesting, after all.

"Fine!" He groaned, zooming up the staircase and into his bedroom. The curtains were blowing, faintly, in the breeze and the trees outside the window were reaching towards the sky. Even outside, the world seemed peaceful and calm. No Egghead messing things up. No evil take-over-the-world plot was taking place.

It was really boring.

"Help me,"

Sonic spun round, tearing away from the window and glancing around the room. Who had said that? Was Tails playing a prank on him?

"Tails?" Sonic muttered, his emerald eyes clouding over in confusion. Even if it had been Tails...the voice sounded female.

"Who's there!?" Sonic called out, into silence. No one replied.

A creak came from Tails' bedroom.

Clenching his fists, Sonic stormed into the room and stood his ground. However, no one was in there.

"If this is some stupid joke..." Sonic growled, menacingly. He was left with no response.

A wind whipped past his quills, making him shiver. It felt like someone had just walked over his grave. Suddenly, a floorboard snapped in half, revealing a gap in the floor. Sonic jumped, in fright, as the gap in the floor revealed an envelope. Nervously, the blue hedgehog grabbed the envelope from the hole. Cobwebs from the floor were stuck on the envelope. Brushing them away, Sonic raced downstairs.

Tails jumped when he saw Sonic standing in front of him.

"Dude, don't do that! I thought you were a ghost or something!"

"You won't believe what just happened to me," Sonic set the envelope down on the table. Tails was sorting through his inventions; piles upon piles of them were stacked up on the table. It was a wonder that Sonic had room to put anything on the surface.

"What's that?" Tails sneezed, innocently, "And why is it so dusty?"

"I haven't opened it, so I don't know what it is. And I just had the most freaky experience. There I was, looking out the window, when someone whispered, 'help me',"

Tails' snickered, "You imagined it, Sonic! There's no such things as ghosts!"

"That's what I thought. But then, I heard something in your room. And when I went in, the floorboard cracked and there, inside, was the envelope," Sonic rubbed his nose, "That couldn't have happened by itself!"

"Sonic," Tails placed one hand on his friend's shoulder, "This is an old house. The floorboards are probably rotten. We'll be lucky if they all don't break. But that doesn't mean that someone is doing this. And as for the voice? You probably just imagined it in the wind,"

"I know what I heard, Tails," Sonic replied, forcefully, "You weren't there. The voice was female...and scared. And when I went into your room...I could feel I wasn't alone. Like someone was...watching me,"

Tails sighed, tiredly, "You should rest. You look tired and scared. Maybe all this 'mystery and history' in the house that you were babbling on about has gotten to you,"

Sonic shook his head, "Don't you want to know what's in the envelope?"

Tails laughed, "I had forgotten about that! Okay, you open it,"

Sonic swiped the envelope, skimming his fingers underneath the seal. Just as he was about to take out the papers, Tails grabbed his wrist.

"Sonic," Tails looked at him with determined eyes, "Before you do this, you've gotta remember...there is no such things as ghosts,"

(...1972...)

With the sun on her back, Blaze purred in happiness as she sauntered down into the heart of the village. The cat had always been a lover of nature, and the trek through the beautiful meadows had just made her get into an even better mood.

The village, however, was a little sinister and depressing. There were houses and various shops dotted around the place – but in the middle of the village were a small church and a graveyard. Since she didn't have much to do, Blaze decided to visit the graveyard.

It was just as you would expect, really. Clean, trimmed grass surrounded each and every head stone and a few grey, stone angels were watching over the graves. Blaze walked around each tombstone, glancing at the names and dates.

There was one that caught her eye.

"Amy Rose...1913 to 1931. Gone too soon and sadly missed," Blaze read, aloud, "So she would be...eighteen. That is too soon. Poor girl..."

Blaze felt like she wasn't alone.

A hand tapped her shoulder. The cat let out a yelp and punched the figure behind her. An old red echidna leapt back, rubbing his shoulder where Blaze had punched.

"Oh my! I'm sorry!" Blaze gulped, nervously, "I thought you were going to attack me or something,"

"It's quite alright," The echidna gave her a small smile, "You've got quite a punch,"

"Ah..." Blaze grinned, sheepishly, "My husband taught me some self defence. But, may I ask why you tapped me?"

The echidna coughed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I just wanted to ask you something. Since you were standing in front of this grave, I wanted to ask...did you know Amy?"

Blaze shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, I didn't. Did you know her?"

"Yes..." A hint of sadness glimmered in the echidna's eye, "Yes I did,"

"I'm sorry," Blaze mumbled, keeping her head low, "What was she like?"

"Inspirational," He complimented, "Feisty, yet polite. Beautiful. And...kind. That was what my best friend described her as. And I would be inclined to agree with him,"

Blaze smiled, "She sounds nice,"

The red male smiled back, "She was,"

Silence grew over them as Blaze felt a sense of pity for the old man.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," The echidna stood up a little straighter, "But I haven't seen you around these parts. Do you live near here?"

"I just moved here. My name's Blaze," The cat glanced back at the grave, "I moved into a house up the road,"

"Not...Timelock House?"

Blaze frowned, "Yes, why? What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing...nothing..." He seemed awfully nervous, "Listen, I'm Knuckles. I live at the house next to the florists. If something...happens...please come and visit me,"

He began to walk away.

"Wait!" She called, watching him leave, "How will I know if something happens?!"

"Trust me..." Knuckles had a grim look on his face, "You'll know,"


	3. Love nothing, regret nothing

**Phew! Finished!**

**Sorry it took awhile! I've been busy...feeling sad because it's snowing. In freaking APRIL?!**

**Has the weather just decided: 'You know what? Screw it! Let's throw sh*t on Thunder's happiness by making crappy weather! Yeah let's do that!'**

**Only...not real sh*t...cause that's just...gross...**

**Anyway! Thank you so much to: **Savvy0417, Poetic Gamer, Guest, ShadowsAngel1, sara kickey, loves-sonamy, Quillink14! **You guys are great!**

**Okay, so, **Quillink14** asked** **for my favourite pairings. I adore SonAmy, quite like ShadAmy (which you can probably guess by now. However, there will be SonAmy! Cause, unlike Lightfields, I am going to make the ghost talk to Blaze/Silver/Sonic/Tails. Should be fun!). I prefer Tailsmo to Tailsream but I'm not too fussed. I love Silvaze. Prefer Knuxouge. Don't really like Shadouge...except for a bit of flirting from Rouge which can be funny to see. **

**So, yeah :D there ya go!**

**Okay, now, on with the chapter! Oh, and just to warn you guys, I researched 'Love nothing; regret nothing' to see if it was a quote that was actually used. I don't think it is. So, I have officially created a quote/phrase! :D That is so going to be printed on my t-shirt for my textiles project! So, no stealing now! :P**

**Anyway, back to listening to 'All I ever wanted'. Gotta love that song!**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter 3 – Love nothing; regret nothing**

**(...2013...)**

"_To my love, Shadow the hedgehog, 7__th__ August 1931_

_The days grow shorter, yet, my love for you still doesn't wither. I have sacrificed everything for you. I can't imagine that it has escaped your attention – that every maid in the house has a form of affection for you. I tried to be different, but I seem to have fallen under your spell too._

_Even though I know nothing can ever become of us._

_I am writing this before your party. I still cannot believe that you invited me. Why would you? I mean...I am simply a maid. I do not have status nor do I have unimaginable beauty. I am simply an unidentifiable maid who has feelings for her master. I have read stories where it all ends happily ever after and the boy runs away into the sunset with his girl. But that will never happen with us._

_I don't even know if you feel the same way as me._

_I said that many maids found you attractive. My best friend, Cream, is also one of those girls. I don't know whether I should forget you and try to reassure her that I do not like you. But I would be lying. How can anyone forget you? I can't have spoken to you more than four times in the period that I have worked here...yet I feel an increasing strength which is pulling me towards you._

_It's so unfair._

_I will never send this letter to you – because I can't. I know that my love for you will be hidden, and probably unwanted. However, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself at this party. As your guest. What do you mean by that? Do you like me as a friend? Or even more?_

_But for now, my love for you is forbidden. And that is the way it must stay._

_Signed, Amy Rose_"

"Whoa..." That was all that Sonic could say. A love letter? It was no massive mystery – but it was interesting. And why had that wind directed him towards it?

This was weird.

"Amy Rose...I've seen that name somewhere before," Tails frowned, "But I can't remember where,"

"Amy's a common name. It's probably nothing," Sonic shrugged, rocking back on the wooden chair.

"Still, I can't believe that this house is from 1931!"

Sonic smirked, "It's probably even older. And this Shadow guy's lucky. Amy really loved him,"

"Says you! You don't know anything about love! You've said so yourself. I quote, 'love sucks and Sonic the hedgehog will never fall in love'," Tails stuck out his tongue at his friend, "I wonder if there is anything that belonged to Amy or Shadow still inside this house! I want to know more about them!"

"Yeah. It's cooler that a story because they actually existed and had real lives," The cobalt hedgehog jerked his head in direction of the opened letters, "And we've still got a few more letters to read,"

"Oh yeah!" The fox reached out to pick up the second of the three letters. All was silent in the creaky old house.

"He loves me,"

The boys' eyes widened in fright.

"W-what was that?" Tails mumbled.

Sonic leapt off the chair, racing over to the sink and grabbing a spatula. It wasn't the best of weapons, but he didn't want to seriously injure this intruder, "It was that voice I heard from earlier. The girl. Someone is messing with the wrong hedgehog,"

Tails took a step closer to Sonic, "What do we do?!"

"Shhh..." Sonic put a finger to his lips, his emerald eyes darting around the room. All he needed was another whisper.

"He loves me not,"

"Upstairs!" Sonic ordered, striding off in the direction of the staircase. Tails, not wanting to be left on his own, scuttled after him. The hedgehog gripped the spatula in his hand as he sped up the stairs. The voice had stopped.

"Where n-now?" Tails clutched Sonic's arm, obviously scared.

"He loves me,"

Sonic pulled Tails closer to him, "My room!"

The boys took a small step towards the darkened room. It was fairly empty – since Sonic didn't have much need for lots of things, and no one was in sight. Sonic pouted, lowering the spatula to his side, whilst Tails breathed a sigh of relief.

"He loves me not,"

They both flinched. The voice was closer, as if the girl was breathing down their necks. Tails huddled into Sonic's arm, wanting this to stop.

"It's okay, Tails," Sonic soothed, clenching and unclenching his jaw. This was no longer amusing.

The electric light began to flicker, making a faint buzzing sound. Tails let out a whimper, as the two of them stared at the light.

Suddenly, it flickered off.

"See?" Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, hugging Tails, "Just a power cut. Nothing creepy, okay, bud?"

"Sure..." Tails shot him a small smile, glancing over the blue hedgehog's shoulder. As soon as his eyes rested on the wall behind Sonic, he screamed, "Sonic!"

The blue blur spun around, gasping as a pink female hedgehog stared back at him. She didn't even blink. Just stared.

"He loves me," She told him, monotonously.

Sonic glanced at Tails, who was quivering into the hedgehog's chest, before turning back to the hedgehog.

She was gone.

"No..." Sonic whispered, his hands tightening around his best friend.

It couldn't...she wasn't...

A ghost?!

**(...1931...)**

Amy smiled to herself, happily. She had finally finished the letter. She did this whenever she had things to say which could never be said aloud. Pulling up the dodgy floorboard, the pink hedgehog embedded the letter inside an envelope and tossed it into the gap. No one would find it there.

Now, she had a party to get ready for.

She fluffed her hair up a bit, before fixing the chosen bow into her hair. It slanted to the side, looking stylish. Her dress had the same pattern, black with white daisies sewed in decorative places. The dress had daises all across her chest whilst the rest of the garment was plain black. It ended above her chest and hugged her body all the way down to her hips. After that, it floated out into elegant folds of fabric. Her feet were slid inside black high heels, making her look more mature and taller. Amy wasn't one for make up, so she painted her lips in a light pink lipstick and twirled out of the room.

Rouge, having heard about Shadow's invitation for Amy, asked the hedgehog to accompany her to the party.

"Oh my!" The ivory bat exclaimed when Amy entered the room, "You look so beautiful!"

"Thank you!" She gushed, "You do too!"

Rouge smirked, glancing down at her pink dress which Amy had already seen, "All eyes will be on you though!"

_But not Shadow's_, Amy thought, sourly. Covering up her depressed mood, Amy smiled at Rouge and offered an arm out, "Shall we go?"

"We shall!" Rouge linked arms with the maid and led her towards the staircase. The guests were circulating into the newly transformed ballroom, but there were still people streaming through the doors. Shadow was greeting people – dressed in a smart black suit – but he seemed to be waiting for someone.

Rouge and Amy sauntered down the stairs, making everyone stare. The noise hushed to a silence as people made approving nods.

"Rouge, darling," Shadow nodded, formally. Rouge shot him a flirty smile. The ebony hedgehog turned to Amy, obviously shocked, "Amy...you look so beautiful!"

"T-thank you," The blushing hedgehog stuttered, cautiously glancing at Rouge. However, she was making eyes at a red echidna in the corner. Amy recognised him. That was Knuckles – another servant for Timelock House. If she remembered correctly...he was the groundskeeper. He was a close friend of Shadow's; so it would only be natural that he was invited to the party.

"I'm just going to find...some refreshments," Rouge waved her hand in dismissal, as she strutted off in the same direction as Knuckles. Even though the refreshments were in the other room.

"Well," Shadow gave Amy one of his dazzling smiles, "Shall we dance?"

Unable to speak, the pink hedgehog followed Shadow into the ball room. Black, white and pink decorations had been hung all around the room, making it look pretty and classy. Amy had never been to a party like this before and she was feeling inferior.

"I d-don't really know how to dance..." Amy admitted, taking Shadow's outstretched hand.

Shadow chuckled, "Don't worry,"

Without warning, he spun her into his arms, lowering her to the floor with his face looming towards her, "I'm a very good teacher,"

If Amy had been feeling flushed before – it was nothing compared to now. Despite her nerves, she let out a giggle.

"Before you do teach me," She frowned, "What is the occasion? I mean, why did you decide to throw a party? In all the rush of the arrangements, I never got the chance to ask,"

Shadow glanced away, obviously uncomfortable, "My anniversary,"

Amy gulped, "How many years?"

"Two,"

Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, "Then...I don't think we should do this..."

She was about to pull away when a hand grabbed her wrist. She let out a gasp, following the arm which led back to Shadow. His shoulders were dropped and his head was hung.

"Please..." He begged, "Just for a while,"

How could she resist such a blatant plea? And such a cute expression.

"Okay," She whispered, stepping into his arms. He smiled, caressing her cheek, unaware of his actions.

"You won't regret it," He murmured, "I promise you,"

What was the phrase? Love nothing; regret nothing.

She'd already fallen in love with him.

How long until she regretted it?

**(...1972...)**

Silver, as usual, was worrying.

Blaze had scribbled him a quick note, telling him that she had decided to explore the village. He knew she was more than capable of looking after herself, but he still couldn't help but worry. She was vulnerable now. She wasn't as fast and reactive as she had been. So, naturally, he was worried about her.

Drumming his gloved fingers on the wooden table, he decided to put on the radio. 'Raindrops keep falling on my head' by B.J Thomas was faintly buzzing out of the speakers. It was one of Silver's favourite songs – even though he wasn't very keen on music from the 60's.

"**Raindrops keep fallin' on my head  
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed  
Nothin' seems to fit  
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin"**

The silver hedgehog rested his head on the surface. His golden eyes were starting to become misty as he breathed a sigh of relief. Blaze would be fine. He was going to be a father. Nothing could get better. This town was full of tranquillity. It was serene and calm.

"**So I just did me some talkin' to the sun  
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done  
Sleepin' on the job  
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'"**

Ahhhh...

"**But there's one thing I knowwwwwwwwwwww..."**

Silver groaned. The radio had died to a halt. That was weird. A strange whirring and clunking sound came from the machine. It had never done that.

"Help me!"

His golden eyes shot open.

Who was that?

It was coming from the radio.

"Help me! H-h-help me!"

The radio seemed to be rewinding – playing the message again and again. Silver picked up the radio, curiously glancing at the box. This was weird, on every level.

The voice was female, faint and terrified, "Help me!"

"Who are you?!" The hedgehog whispered in disbelief, unaware of another presence.

"Amy Rose," Someone was behind him.

Silver leapt off his chair and yelped when he saw a pink hedgehog standing in front of him. She looked bruised and pale – her beautiful pink quills were windswept and ruffled. Her left cheek had a scar running across her face and her black dress was ripped at her thighs, exposing her bloody legs.

However, her emerald green eyes outshone the flaws.

Silver glanced back at the radio. Had she been mucking around with it? And how the hell had she gotten into his house?! The door was locked!

When he turned to face her, she was gone.

"Amy, is it?" Silver cried out, "Where are you? And what do you want!?"

A faint giggle rushed through his fur. He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling exposed and threatened.

This was wrong. On many levels.

"What do you want?!" He yelled again.

Silence.

He glanced around the room, "Tell me!"

...

"Justice,"

**(...1931...9****th**** August...)**

The house was eerily quiet. No one could shake the terrified feeling away from them.

She was dead.

No doubt about it. She was dead. And not coming back.

"I just can't shake this feeling that there's something strange," The ivory bat hugged her arms around her body – snuggling into her warm white fur coat. It was august...but she had been feeling cold for the past two days.

The ebony hedgehog in front of her didn't say anything. He was known to be quiet...but never this quiet. Almost as if he was mourning.

She frowned, "What's the matter?"

"You know what's the matter," He growled.

The bat placed a hand on his arm, "I'm sorry. We can't bring her back. But we need to find out what happened. No matter what people say...I don't think this was an accident. And someone must know something,"

Shadow tugged his arm away, simply glared at her. He leapt up and turned his back on her, "Stop bringing the past back up, Rouge. She's gone. And don't accuse people of keeping secrets. I know, first hand, that you're not as innocent as everyone thinks,"

A blush found its way onto Rouge's face, as Shadow stormed out of the room.

"Well...that went well," Rouge murmured. She grabbed her bag from the floor and made her way out of the pub, earning a few stares from other guys. The bat and hedgehog had hoped to drown their sorrows in alcohol...but it hadn't worked.

However, ignoring what Shadow had said, she vowed to herself that she would find out what happened to Amy.

And Shadow's insults were more hypocritical than he liked to believe.


	4. Cryptic riddles

**Chapter 4. The story's progressing and we're about to find out a few more answers!**

**Mahooooo-sive thanks to: **Savvy0417, Dunamic the Moon Princess (the weather's getting marginly better...thanks for commenting on it :D), Quillink14, Guest, ShadowsAngel1, The High School Hero, Magical-SandCastle! **You guys motivate me to write this/hurry up with updates! d(^_^)b**

**Okay, so, here is chappie 4! Enjoy! :D**

Chapter 4 – Cryptic riddles

**(...1931...10****th**** August...)**

For Rouge, things were harder than she expected. No one seemed to know much about Amy Rose. She didn't have any family around here and she kept to herself. The only person who knew a lot about Amy – was a fellow maid named Cream. But she in too much despair to speak.

"You're wasting your time, Rouge," Shadow sulked, as the servants left the room for the couple to speak, "You won't find anything. It was a simple accident,"

"No it wasn't!" She screeched, angry that he would be so dismissive of her death, "People don't just fall from balconies like feathers, Shadow the hedgehog! Something must have happened up there! Why did she go up there in the first place?!"

Shadow didn't speak, bowing his head low and averting his gaze.

"You know...don't you?" Rouge whispered in disbelief, "Why did she go up there?"

He growled, "I don't know,"

"Why was she up there, Shadow?"

"I don't know,"

"She was with you. When did she disappear?"

"I said I don't know!" He yelled, glaring at her, "Just stop this, Rouge! She's dead! Stop causing trouble!"

"Amy would want us to know the truth!" Rouge sobbed, losing control of herself, "Or is there something that you don't want to come out?!"

"Says you!" Shadow's voice cracked, "Why don't you ask yourself that question? You've got more secrets than any of us!"

"Stop it," Rouge begged.

"No! Why don't you take a good look at yourself, Rouge? Cause I feel sorry for Knuckles!"

And with that, he stormed out of the room, leaving Rouge in a sad silence.

**(...1972...)**

"Silver?"

Blaze poked her head round the kitchen door. She had just arrived back – wondering where her husband was. He seemed to have vanished.

"Silver?"

Why wasn't he answering?

"Silver?"

No reply.

"Silver?!"

"Blaze!" His voice came, loud and clear, as he stampeded down the stairs and threw himself at her. She gasped as he pulled her into a massive hug, trembling.

"What's wrong?" She asked, frightened.

"Have you heard weird things about this house?" He looked down at her, nervous of the answer.

She gulped, "Why do you say that?"

"Please...just answer,"

"Yes," She whispered, "I've seen and heard a few things,"

"I don't think we're safe here,"

"Why on earth not?"

"This is going to sound mad..."

"Please," She held his hand in her own, "Just tell me. What happened?"

"I think...we're being targeted by some local teenager called Amy Rose,"

"That's not possible..." Blaze breathed, as her eyes widened in horror.

"Why not?"

"Because Amy Rose is dead,"

**(...2013...)**

"This is creepy beyond words," Tails shivered, "She shouldn't exist! Ghosts don't exist! They can't! It completely goes against everything we've ever believed in!"

"Maybe they do exist..." Sonic muttered.

"Don't tell me you believe that she's a ghost! She...c-can't be!"

"Why?" Sonic looked up at his best friend, "We've come across weirder. Why can't ghosts exist?"

"I guess you're right..." Tails sighed, "So what do we do? Move?"

"No way!" Sonic shot a disappointed look at the fox, "We don't move! She's a ghost! Not a serial killer! We need to find out what she wants. We never run from someone, bud! Ever!"

"Yeah, but it's...a ghost,"

"And?"

"They're creepy and will probably try to kill us. You've seen her. Covered in blood and ripped clothes,"

"So? Doesn't mean she isn't a nice person. And besides, she's probably more scared of us than we are of her,"

"Sonic, she's a ghost...not a spider,"

The blue blur shrugged, "Oh well. It still stands. And we need to help her. She seemed scared. And we don't refuse help from people – right, Tails?"

"I guess," Tails replied, with a heavy heart, "But how? What does she need help with? We're messing with things beyond our level of understanding,"

"I have a feeling it's to do with those letters and that Shadow character. She led me to the letters. She first appeared when we were about to read the second letter. We need to read those letters," Sonic smirked, pulling Tails up from the couch and dragging him into the kitchen. However, the letters were nowhere in sight

"Sonic..." Tails pointed towards a pile of ash, where the letter should be, "I don't understand..."

The cobalt hedgehog shuffled towards it, crumbling the black dust between his gloved fingers, "Burned..."

"What?"

"She burnt it,"

"Why?"

"...I don't know,"

**(...1931...)**

"It's weird..." Rouge mumbled, combing her hair with her fingers, "No one seems to know anything. Yet, at the same time, everyone seems to know something,"

"I guess they're keeping secrets,"

"But, how do I persuade them to tell me? I need to know what happened to Amy – she was my friend. And it's driving me crazy!"

"I dunno. Trick them?"

"I need to find out what Shadow knows. And tricking Shadow the hedgehog into admitting his secret...is near enough to impossible,"

"You're right. Maybe you should ask around about that rabbit girl?"

"Cream? I will...but she's too distressed at the moment. Give her time and I will be able to find out what she knows. She must know something. She was Amy's best friend,"

"There you go. You've got a lead,"

"But I don't understand!" Rouge sighed, frustrated, "One doesn't simply go from being at a party...to throwing themselves off a balcony!"

"How do you know she threw herself from the balcony?"

"I don't. It's a theory,"

"But the doctors said that she fell. They could tell from the way she fell,"

"I know. But something must have happened. It must have. It just doesn't make sense. Those railings don't break easily,"

"Maybe she slipped?"

"I don't know. Something seems weird to me,"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You always do,"

Rouge smirked, "You're acting like I've done this before,"

"Well..." Knuckles blushed a deep red, "You managed to figure me out,"

The bat tapped Knuckles' nose, "I did, didn't I? Oh well...thanks for your encouragement, Knuckie. It's really helped,"

The echidna placed his hands on her waist, pressing his lips into hers. The bat moaned, caressing his cheek as she sank into a moment of pure bliss.

The couple felt a pang of disappointment when they heard someone approaching the room.

Knuckles stood up, "I must go. No one can find me here. We'll both be strung up for treason,"

Rouge giggled, "The groundskeeper and the aristocrat. I could write a book,"

"Please don't," Knuckles smirked, "I'm sure your husband would read it and we would both be found out,"

"My husband does not own me," Rouge rolled her eyes, disapprovingly.

"By law," Knuckles bent forward and kissed the bat's cheek, "But not by heart,"

"I'll see you?" Rouge called as the echidna gave her a brisk nod and swept out of the room. Rouge sighed to herself, lounging back onto her bed.

She felt guilty. She had something which Amy wanted, yet Rouge no longer wanted it.

She had Knuckles and Shadow. Amy wanted Shadow.

Although, as Rouge suspected, Shadow's heart definitely belonged to someone else...

Someone who was no longer alive.

This meant that Shadow did know more than he was saying.

He had been with Amy on the night of her death. But, surely, he hadn't killed her? He loved her, didn't he? Or maybe someone else took Amy to the balcony.

The main question, at the moment, wasn't how did she fall or why did she die.

It was: who had led her to the balcony?

And Rouge had a feeling that Shadow knew the answer to that question. She just needed to get it out of him.

Easier said than done.

**(...1972...)**

"How can she be dead...?" Silver whispered, as his eyes darted around the room for any sign of movement.

Blaze sighed, "I don't know...all I know is that I saw her grave with my very own eyes. And that Knuckles warned me about something like this happening,"

"Maybe he's the one playing the joke on us," Silver growled, through gritted teeth, "Maybe he's behind this,"

"Silver...he was well over 60 years old. He wasn't behind this," Blaze frowned, "In fact; I'd say he was old enough to be alive when she was,"

"Never mind him. What do we do? We're living in a house with a freaking ghost, Blaze! It's not something we can just ignore!"

"Why don't we speak to her?" Blaze smiled, innocently, as Silver groaned.

"Have you been reading your 'life-after-death' books, again?"

"No," Blaze pouted, "I'm making a serious suggestion. We need to find out what's tying her to this world,"

Silver raised his eyebrow, really wishing that she wasn't into all this psychic-medium-ghosts-stuff, "And how do we do that?"

"Simple!" Blaze grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the stair case. Silver knew better than to argue with her, "We need to speak to her,"

"You want me to talk to the crazy ghost who tried to blow up my radio and is covered in blood?!" Silver hissed, worriedly.

Blaze's mouth stretched into a grin, "Yes. You make it sound bad, saying it like that,"

"Maybe that's because it's a crazy plan!" The grey hedgehog took a deep breath in, feeling nervous, "Okay...A-Amy? You there?"

Nothing.

"Oh, looks like she's not here!" Silver spun on his heel and grinned at the cat, "Shame, isn't it!"

"Silver..." Blaze whispered, pointing over his shoulder. The grey hedgehog slowly turned around, gasping as pink quills came into view. She stared, waiting for them to say something.

"W-what are you d-doing here? What do you want?" Blaze murmured, clutching her bulging stomach. The pink girl looked, disdainfully, at Blaze's bump.

"You bear a child?" She asked, without recognition.

The lavender cat nodded, hesitantly, "Y-yes,"

"Do you love her?" Amy bleated at Silver, staring into his golden eyes.

The male hedgehog gulped, pulling Blaze closer to him, "Of course,"

The ghost blinked, emotionlessly, "Love kills,"

The lights suddenly exploded, scattering glass towards the floor. Blaze let out a scream as Silver protected her by covering his body over hers. As the electrics sparked and crackled, the couple looked back at the staircase.

She was gone.

**(...2013...)**

"So...any ideas?"

"Several. None of them to do with the ghost, though," The black cat smirked, eyeing up Sonic. The cobalt hedgehog had decided to visit the village. None of the residents seemed to know anything about the ghost – because no one had lived in the house since the 70's. However, this young cat – who went by the name of Paris – had claimed she knew something about the house. But she had to see the house to give her opinion. This did strike Sonic as odd, but he just wanted to help the ghost and make Tails feel safe.

"What have you got ideas about, then?" Sonic frowned, folding his arms and leaning onto his left leg.

"Me..." Paris smirked, glancing at Tails, to make sure he wasn't listening, "...and you,"

Sonic's expression hardened, "Us?"

"Uh huh..." The cat licked her lips, "...us. Listen, leave your little friend out of this and I'll show you a 'paranormal experience',"

A shiver made its way up Sonic's spine, "I don't think so,"

"Really?" Paris stepped towards Sonic, placing her hands on his thigh, "Cause I'm a real mystery when it comes to the bedroom,"

"I think I've heard enough," Sonic grimaced as he tried to bat her hands away. He wanted her out of the house and away from him as soon as possible.

Suddenly, a creak came from the stairs. The cat and hedgehog glanced up to find nothing there.

"Listen, if you really want my opinion on the ghost," Paris sighed, angrily, "I think you should just move. I mean, ghosts don't exactly exist. Maybe you need a little break from all your 'saving the world' activities,"

"Leave this place!" A voice screeched behind them. Sonic gasped as Paris screamed, before racing out of the door and down the driveway. Amy was standing in front of Sonic, making his blood run cold.

"Sonic!" Tails cried, seeing the ghost and running next to his best friend, "What do we do?"

"Why did you do that?" Sonic asked, "And why did you burn the letters? We want to help you. I would have expected you to try and scare us away...but I don't think you want to do that, do you?"

"Who was she, Shadow?" Amy whispered, surprising the two males by speaking, "I thought you loved me!"

"Uh...she was nobody," Sonic groaned, remembering Paris' bad flirting, "And my name is Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog,"

"No...you're Shadow the hedgehog," Amy growled, "I waited 93 years for you. I love you! Don't you love me?"

"I'm not Shadow," Sonic whispered, gently.

"I missed you," A tear ran down Amy's face, "I waited for you to return. And you did. But now I find you with some stupid cat?"

"I'm not Shadow. And believe me," Sonic smirked, "I have no intention of going out with her,"

"Going out with who?" Tails mumbled to his friend.

Sonic chuckled, "Long story,"

"There were two other people in this house in 1972," Amy continued, "They worked it out. I need you to work it out, Shadow,"

"Work what out...?" Sonic frowned.

Tails blinked, "Sonic...you're not Shadow,"

"If she thinks I am," Sonic explained, "She might tell us how to help,"

"Rouge was so close to working it out," Amy mumbled, "But someone didn't tell her everything. Someone close to her,"

"What did she nearly work out?" The cobalt hedgehog pressed for an answer, not understanding her riddles.

She looked up at them, with glistening tears in her eyes, "My death,"


	5. The depths of despair

**Phew. Finally updated! Thank you for being so patient, everyone! :D**

**Shout outs and appreciation to: **The High School Hero, ShadowsAngel1, DeLuna The Cat, Scourge's number one stalker, Savvy0417, SonicCrazyGal, Magical-SandCastle, Quillink14! **I always ALWAYS love reading your reviews, guys. Thank you so much!**

**Okay...I can't really say anything about this chapter because it will give it away. So, enjoy chapter 5! :D T.C**

Chapter 5 – The depths of despair

**(...1931...)**

The day had been quiet. Not much had happened. Rouge hadn't faced anyone from the village. They were giving her space. Which was exactly what she wanted. They only people she was speaking to was Shadow (even though he was barely speaking to her) and Knuckles. But no one knew about her conversations with Knuckles, so all the maids were worrying.

However, after a couple of days of Rouge telling them to leave, they eventually went away and left the bat by herself. Rouge would confine herself to her room – not talking, barely eating and just staring out of the window at the meadow.

She couldn't escape this nagging idea about Amy's death.

She didn't have any crazy ideas that Amy wasn't dead. She was as dead as anything. Rouge knew that better than anyone. When she had found Amy's body, she couldn't help but sob and cling onto the hedgehog's hand. The chill from the corpse had spread all over Rouge like a cold fire – shocking the bat into more screams and sobs.

Before they hauled Amy away and placed her in a coffin.

Today wasn't any different. Rouge stayed in her room, ignoring the tray of food which had been given to her. Technically, Shadow shared a room with Rouge – but he hadn't been around for a couple of days. Probably thinking things over.

Rouge held back her tears, clutching her gold necklace which was hanging around her neck. It was her mother's. The bat didn't know why Amy's death had affected her so much – it's not like they were best of friends. Well, Rouge would have liked to been good friends with Amy, but the hedgehog was always very distant.

But the bat still thought of her as a friend.

A cool breeze tickled Rouge's cheeks, making her look out at the sky. It was sunny and bright, making the bat recoil in depression. The sky didn't have a right to be so happy. Not when everyone was hurting and there was someone missing from Timelock House.

In the distance, Rouge could see a familiar red echidna dragging a wheel barrow across the grass. He shot her a coy grin and raised his brown hat to her, as she blushed into a pink complexion.

However, another figure stalked along the path, keeping their head down – making Knuckles jump and pretend he hadn't been making silent conversation with Rouge. The bat glanced away from Knuckles; watched the figure storm away from the house.

She would recognise those ebony quills anywhere.

Hurriedly pulling on a pair of battered black tap shoes (with heels...of course), she raced out of the room and down the staircase. She was careful not to run into any of the servants, but apologised when she nearly skidded into some of them. They frowned, gasping and calling her name – but she ignored them. She had a bad feeling that he was going to do something awful.

Rouge ran out into the sunlight, as her dress billowed out behind her. She earned a glance from Knuckles and he yelled her name. But she was concentrating on following him. He headed out of the meadow – towards the dark forest. It had always given Rouge the creeps, but she pushed her fear to the back of her mind.

She needed to keep him in her line of view.

She had to.

Because he was going to do something. And it wasn't good.

**(...1972...)**

After their dealing with Amy Rose, Silver the hedgehog and Blaze the cat were feeling very shaken up. They retired to the bedroom, perching on the edge of the bed – even though it was noon.

"It's okay," Silver soothed, holding a shaking Blaze in his arms. He was still feeling on edge, "She's gone now,"

"But...I don't believe it! Ghosts are real! Really real!" Blaze whimpered, nuzzling her head against Silver's warm chest.

The male frowned, "I guess they are,"

"I never felt so frightened in my life. I guess...I never imagined that ghosts would exist...so I never thought about what it would be like to see one. It's so chilling. The way she looked at me..."

"I know," Silver let out an exhausted sigh, "I was there. I felt it too,"

"Why do you think she wants to scare us?" Blaze stared at him with a haunted look in her eyes.

"I'm not sure. She seemed pretty bitter,"

"Revenge?" Blaze pondered, "But for what? Let's be honest, we don't know anything about her,"

Silver shrugged, "Maybe we should leave this place..."

"No,"

The grey hedgehog stared at her. She sounded so confident. So defiant. So sure of herself.

Blaze shook her head, "We aren't going to be driven away. We've got to face up to her. It's our home too. And we can't let something like this destroy our future. You've always taught me to stand up for myself. We've got to do that now,"

"Okay," Silver smiled, proudly, "We'll stay. But we need to find out more about ghosts,"

The lavender cat bit her lip, "I think we need to focus on Amy more than ghosts. Find out what she wants and we can help her. Or, at least, stop her from trying to kill us,"

"You always see the positives, huh, Blaze?" Silver brushed a loose hair away from Blaze's golden eyes, making her giggle.

"Of course," The cat leapt up, boldly, "And I think I know who we can talk to,"

"Who?" Silver stood beside her.

Blaze linked her fingers with his, feeling his heat spread though her like a raging fire. Just standing by him made her feel safer, "Who better to ask then someone who knew Amy when she was alive?"

**(...2013...)**

"What do we do now?!" Tails paced the room, as Sonic's emerald eyes followed his friend around the room.

The hedgehog sighed, "Wandering around won't help, bud,"

Tails flumped onto the bed, "I'm so scared! Yet confused! And sad! I don't get it! What does she want?!"

"Recognition? Revenge?" Sonic shrugged, "She seemed obsessed with her death. Maybe she died badly. Or someone killed her. Or she has unfinished business. I don't know. We can only know if we talk to her,"

"I'm scared, Sonic. What if she tries to kill us?" Tails murmured, saying both of their fears out loud.

Sonic gulped, "I won't let that happen. I won't let her hurt you, Tails. Never. You can count on it,"

The fox nodded, putting all his faith into the young hero, "Thanks, Sonic. And I won't let anything happen to you either,"

The cobalt hedgehog shot him a weak smile, "Why are we worrying if she's going to hurt us? She hasn't done anything yet. We're just scared. That's all,"

"You're scared?" Tails raised his eyebrow. Sonic the hedgehog was never scared. It was just something which was a fact. Even when he was facing a massive robot controlled by Eggman – Sonic always managed to have a cocky grin and a clever comeback. That was Sonic – written all over.

The hedgehog grinned and nodded, "Of course I'm scared. A scary dead girl is trying to scare us? Giving us clues about her life and death. Who isn't scared? Doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it!"

"Only you would enjoy this," Tails muttered, smirking.

Sonic winked, "The one and only. And besides, she's hot,"

"And only you would fall for a dead girl,"

"I never said I was falling for her. She's just a pretty cute to look at, you know?"

Tails tutted, mockingly, "Even when she's burning letters and making you jump out of your quills?"

"I guess that's her special talent,"

"Do you think that this 'Shadow' felt the same way?" The fox asked, innocently, "I mean, she cares about him. A lot. She even mistook you for him. You two must look pretty similar,"

"He probably did. I wonder what he looked like," Sonic rubbed his quills, "I bet he wasn't as handsome as me, though. I wonder if there's a photo somewhere. Did they have cameras in 1933?"

"1931," Tails corrected, "But yes. They would have cameras,"

"Well, let's go!" Sonic grabbed Tails' wrist and dragged him towards the bedroom where he had found the letters, "There's only one way to find out!"

**(...1931...)**

Her shoes crunched against the stones. The forest was dark and damp, as she trod over another log. The area was eerily quiet and she had lost sight of her dark and mysterious hedgehog. Maybe he hadn't even entered the forest.

And Rouge really didn't want to be here if she didn't have to.

She growled, as the branches tore at her dress. Her arms were becoming covered in tiny scratches and the heat was making her hair stick to her skin. Her breath became ragged as she quickened her pace. To her relief, she saw Shadow in a small clearing, kneeling on the floor.

Until she saw what he was holding to his head.

"Shadow!" She called, as the hedgehog looked up at her. Rouge's tone was desperate and frightened, "Please...put it down,"

"No!" His grip tightened on the gun, "It's my fault,"

Rouge stepped forward, as Shadow looked like he was close to tears, "It's not your fault..."

He sobbed, "It is! I...s-should have kept an eye on her! We...w-we were enjoying it too much..."

Rouge had a feeling that something might have gone on between the two. Something romantic. It should have hurt her, but it didn't. Rouge would be happier with Knuckles and Shadow would have been happier with Amy.

Life isn't fair.

But, right now, Rouge's main priority was to make sure that Shadow did not pull that trigger.

"Killing yourself won't help..." She whispered, crouching down and taking a small step closer. He shuffled away, with tears streaming down his face.

"I can be with her. I want to be with her. There's nothing left for me here," He stuttered, still managing to maintain an aggressive manner – even if he was crying.

"There is..." Rouge blinked, frozen in place, "...you can help me find out what happened to her. Unless...do you know what happened to her?"

"N-no. I know you don't believe me. B-but...I don't know what happened. All I know is...oh god!" He clenched his hand around the gun, breathing heavily.

"Shadow!" Rouge cried, her voice straining, "Shadow! What was the last thing you said to her?"

He blinked, "Wha-what?"

"What did you say to her? The very last thing before she died?" Maybe if Shadow remembered the reality of the situation, he would think twice before killing himself.

"I...I told her that I...l-loved her. I s-said that I couldn't live w-without her. T-that I n-needed her," Shadow admitted, as his face became distraught with emotion.

Rouge nodded, slowly, "What did she say?"

"She said s-she felt the s-same way. S-she loved m-me too," The ebony hedgehog let out a sob, "And I c-can't live without her. Which is w-why I need to do this. O-or the last thing I s-said to her will be a lie!"

Rouge took another risky step towards him, "But she wouldn't want you to do this, Shadow. She would want you to live on. She can't come back, Shads. But we owe it to her to remember her, fondly,"

He let out an exhausted sigh, "I g-guess...w-would she?"

"Yes..." Rouge was now squatting in front of the despairing male, "If you love her...then live for her,"

With an outstretched hand, the bat stared into Shadow's blood red orbs. He blinked back at her, ignoring the tears in his eyes. He stared at her hand before dropping the gun into her palm. He fell to the ground, whilst Rouge caught him and stroked his quills, as he cried into her shoulder.

"It's not fair," His voice was muffled against Rouge's dress. The bat fought back her own tears, biting her lip.

"I know," Her voice cracked. But she had to be strong for the both of them, "I miss her too, Shadow. So much,"

"I'm sorry," He mumbled, "I should have told you about my...feelings for her,"

"I knew. Deep down," Rouge admitted, "I think everyone knew. And...I think you know that I don't love you either,"

"Yes," He whispered, "I know about Knuckles. I knew for a long time. But I didn't mind...because I had her..."

The tears started to fall again, as he made quiet sounds of heartbreak. He attempted to push Rouge away from him, out of sadness, but his punches were weak and defeated. His actions simply made the bat cling onto him, tighter. The gun was lying, forgotten, in the dirt.

"You still have her," Rouge whispered, "You'll always have her. In your heart,"

Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. A trail of tears streaked down her face and Rouge noticed that her cheeks were wet. The two of them sobbed and cried, as they held onto each other – holding onto the only thing which could keep them from falling into the arms of misery.

**A/C – N'aw. ShadAmy. I'm too mean for poor Shadow. And I couldn't help but add a bit of SonAmy in this chapter. Crushing on a ghost, Sonic? Hmm? Hmmm! :D**

***cough* sorry about that! So, the next chapter will have more answers for all the time periods! Will Shadow let Rouge in on the rest of his secrets? Who are Blaze and Silver going to visit? And will Tails and Sonic find answers in a picture from Amy's past? Found out next time, folks! :D**


	6. Found you

**Hey people! It's my last day before my week of pure HELL!**

**Exams...WHY?! All freaking week! NOOOO!? D:**

**Phew...anyway, I've revised so I shouldn't do too badly (that's if I'm having a good day) but I'm still super nervous. Wish me luck guys! :D**

**So, to relax, I decided to update this story. I really like this chapter, even if it does get a little...heated up.**

**Okay, as a pre-warning, there is ShadAmy. And yes, they do it. Although, thanks to Rouge, it doesn't go into it (you'll get that joke in the chapter). So, it get's towards 'M' rated, but it isn't.**

**So, it's all good! d(^_^)b**

**Okay, major thanks to: **Nitro13, ShadowsAngel1, Guest, The High School Hero, SonicCrazyGal, epicn00b, DeLuna The Cat, Quillink14, reallyproud458! **Thank you so much you guys! I love your reviews! :D**

**Okay, so, on with le chapter! Enjoy! T.C**

Chapter 6 – Found you

**(...1931...)**

A cold breeze wrapped around Rouge's arms, as Shadow's voice was caught in his throat. The darkness was closing in – yet the pair of them hadn't moved. They had simply cried.

"Rouge..." Shadow muttered, as his tears had dried and his heart was aching, "I know you want to find out what happened to her,"

Rouge's expression softened, "Shad...if you know something..."

"I do," He blinked, as his ruby red eyes clouded over in thought, "And I want to tell you,"

"What happened?" She whispered.

Gulping, Shadow stood up before extending his hand out to her, "Come on. We can't talk in the woods. It's too dangerous. We'll find a safer place and I will tell you everything that I know,"

The bat nodded, clambering to her feet and brushed the dust from her dress. Shadow offered his arm out to her and she linked her arm with his. His warm fur was comforting against her bare arms. The two strolled through the darkness – which made Rouge feel a little nervous. The thick trees were silhouetting with the night sky and the forest was eerily quiet, apart from the sound of Rouge's heels crunching on the ground.

Brushing a loose hair behind her ear, Rouge glanced up at Shadow. He looked tired and lifeless. As if all his love for the world had been sucked out of him. Technically, it had. But Rouge hadn't seen Shadow looking so weary in all the time she had known him. He was always confident, quiet and stern. He was always unemotional and never wore his heart on his sleeve. Seeing him like this was like seeing another side to him.

But, at least he was going to tell her what happened. Did he know who killed Amy? Did he see her die?

Did he...

No. He didn't. He would never do that.

Shadow the hedgehog was many things. But he wasn't a murderer.

**(...1972...)**

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Sir! Please! We need to speak with you!"

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"It's important!"

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Blaze..." Silver muttered, reaching out to pull her away from the door, before she smashed it. However, she swiped her wrist away from him and continued to hit the door. A creaking of floorboards could be heard and the door was reluctantly pulled open.

The tired echidna's expression softened when he saw Blaze, "Ah. Hello Blaze. I thought you would turn up. Sooner or later,"

"You were right," Blaze blurted out, "Strange things are happening, Knuckles. And I think you know why they are happening,"

Knuckles frowned, nodding in the direction of Silver, "Who might you be?"

"Her husband," Silver stepped forward, offering his hand, "My name is Silver the hedgehog,"

"Well, then," Knuckles smiled, shaking hands with Silver "Mr and Mrs Hedgehog. I suppose you better come in,"

(...)

"Things have been happening," Blaze continued, "Just like you said,"

"What things?" Knuckles frowned, clenching and unclenching his fists in anxiety.

Silver straightened up. There was something weird about this echidna, according to him, "Blaze heard a voice. My radio started playing up,"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"No..." Blaze shot a glance at Silver – which he didn't return, "This morning...we...saw someone. In our kitchen. She...wasn't human. This is going to sound crazy but...she was a ghost. And...she said her name was Amy Rose,"

Silence. The echidna stretched up and paced around the room. Blaze's eyes watched him – as he quickly looked at a cabinet at the corner of the room. After walking around the room, he stopped and stared at the cat and hedgehog.

"Well?" Silver inquired, "Do you think that this is the same Amy Rose who you used to know?"

"I don't know," Knuckles muttered, "But Amy had a good heart. She wouldn't haunt people,"

"She seemed to be searching for something..." Blaze pondered aloud, "She mentioned love a couple of times. Did she have a boyfriend or anything like that, Knuckles?"

"No," The echidna replied through gritted teeth, "It was complicated. But I don't think we should dig up the past. People could get hurt,"

"So what should we do?" Silver's anger was slowly increasing, despite the fact that he had always been a calm and collected person, "Sit around and wait for her to kill us? Knuckles, she managed to explode a light today. Who knows what else she can do. I don't particularly want to find out. Especially with my wife and child,"

"I'm fine, Silver," Blaze's eyes softened, "But I agree about our child. We need to get rid of her, Knuckles. Even if that means helping her uncover the truth or banishing her. She's dangerous,"

"Her past is dangerous," Knuckles growled, "Heed my words – you don't want to go snooping around and digging up secrets. She **died**. This isn't some fun mystery. She died and someone else could too. If you value your lives...leave this town and don't think about Amy Rose ever again,"

Silver leapt up, "Was that a threat?!"

"No..." Knuckles turned and stared at the grey hedgehog, "That was a warning,"

**(...2013...)**

"I really don't like this,"

"Me neither, bud," Sonic gripped his hand onto the door handle, "Me neither,"

Tails shivered, "Then why are we doing this?"

"We're heroes. We help people," Sonic chuckled, darkly, "And I guess ghosts count as people,"

The fox gave a brave nod – but he could feel his heart pounding against his chest, "Okay. I'm ready. Let's do this,"

The blue blur took a deep breath and barged into the room. It was empty, with the window open and a cool breeze filling the air. The only sound that could be heard was the two mammals' sneakers tapping against the floor. They glanced at the broken floorboard, disdainfully.

"She's not here," Tails mumbled.

Sonic gave him a nod, "Just as well. Let's hunt around then,"

The cobalt hedgehog sped through the cupboards, using his speed to quickly scan the cases and the papers. He was looking for anything that would be useful, but he really wanted to find a photo.

Tails, meanwhile, headed over to the walk in cupboard at the side of the room. He found it empty, with a few cobwebs and spider skeletons.

"Nothing..." He let out a small sigh, about to close the door when he spotted something, "Sonic, look at this!"

The hedgehog frowned, pulling out a folder full of pictures. It was just lying at the back of a cupboard. A bitten photo fluttered to the floor, as Sonic picked it up. He glanced at it, before walking over to Tails.

"What does that say?" He asked as the fox brushed his fingers over the engraving which had been scratched into the wood.

"It says...Cream and Amy – friends forever. But it's crossed out. Who's Cream? Do you think it's the same Amy?"

Sonic shrugged, "I guess so. But look at this,"

He held out the photo. It showed Timelock House, with a group of people standing outside. A classy bat and a gloomy black hedgehog were standing in the middle. A red echidna was standing on the side of the hedgehog and a cluster of maids were on the bat's side. Standing next to a perky rabbit was a familiar hedgehog.

"Hey! It's Amy!" Sonic cried, breaking out into a smile, "It must be from 1931!"

"And look," Tails gestured at the hedgehog, "That must be Shadow. We can't see what colour he is because the photo's in black and white. But he does look like you!"

Sonic snorted, "I look way better than he does. And I bet he wasn't blue,"

"Which one do you think is Cream?" Tails asked, curiously.

The hedgehog shrugged, "Maybe it says in this scrapbook,"

He flung the book open, scanning through the pages. They were mainly filled with pictures of 1931. Not many pictures of Amy were in there.

"It doesn't say," Tails muttered with a pout. Sonic turned the page, before gasping and finding a picture which wasn't from the same time period.

"What's this? Who are they?" Sonic pulled out the photo, holding it out to Tails, "That's not from the 30s,"

The photo was of a grey hedgehog – his fur colour was recognisable because the photo was in colour. Standing next to him was a purple cat which seemed to be holding something in her arms. They looked happy but they seemed to be standing further away from the house than the people from 1931 had.

"No. It's not," Tails turned the photo over and read the swirly message, "Hey, what's this? There's a message,"

"It probably just says who they are," Sonic replied with a shrug, "I guess it's a bust,"

"No, Sonic. Look. It says, 'If you're reading this, get out. Don't stay in this house. Get out. She will come. She will kill you if you don't leave. Just run'...I don't like the sound of that, Sonic,"

Sonic frowned, "Who will kill us?"

"Me,"

**(...1931...)**

"A lot happened that night. Most of it, I regret. But there were bits of it which I thought, at the time, were the best moments of my life,"

"What happened, Shadow?" Rouge placed her hand on his, as the hard bench dug into their weak skin, "I need to know,"

"You'll hate me," He muttered.

She turned away from him, "It doesn't matter. I've done things which would make you hate me. I still want to know what happened. You can tell me anything, Shadow. Even if it's about betraying the marriage. We're friends. There's no chemistry behind it. You...obviously know about Knuckles. I know about Amy. What happened between you two?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes. I do,"

"It started when you left with Knuckles,"

(... K...)

Amy grinned as Shadow took hold of her hand again and pulled her out of the room. They had been dancing for a while – simply staring into each other's eyes and feeling the love spread. They didn't care that people were staring at them. That didn't matter. To them, they were the only ones in the room and no one else was even there.

"Let's take this somewhere private," Shadow whispered, leading her upstairs. A nagging doubt pulled at her mind, but she chose to ignore it. This was her dream come true. She wasn't going to let sensibility ruin her big moment.

"Hold on," Amy muttered, as she felt her mouth become dry, "I need to quickly get a drink,"

"Okay. Meet me in my room," Shadow nuzzled against her cheek, and was gone in the next second.

A blush decorated her cheeks. Could he be...?

But she was too young...

She was 18.

It's still quite young...

"Oh what the hell," Amy whispered, scanning the hallway for a drink. She didn't want to go back into the room without Shadow. She didn't want to face the whispers and the mutters.

She smirked as a glass perched on the window sill. No one would mind if she took a quick swig. Downing the glass in one gulp, Amy raced upstairs, pulling her dress lower over her chest. Shadow was waiting for her.

She found the room in a second and burst inside. The room belonged to Rouge and Shadow – but neither of them were in there. Disappointment and confused spun in her mind, before Amy heard the door close and arms wrap around her body.

"Miss me?" A low voice whispered into her ear, as kisses caressed her neck. Shivers were sent down her spine as Amy let out a moan.

"Terribly," She flirted spinning around and flinging her arms around his neck. Her lips crashed into his and she mentally slammed a door on the thoughts that were telling her it was a bad idea.

The action took Shadow by surprise, but he soon got over his shock and began to kiss back. The soft kiss turned into desperation and the two of them seemed hungry for more. Amy slipped her tongue into his mouth and began to pull him towards the bed. They sank into the satin sheets and embraced each other again – with their lips still in contact.

Amy's fingers wrapped around Shadow's quills, sending pleasure through both of them. She let out a giggle, before starting to unbutton her dress.

Shadow pulled away when he saw what she was doing, "What are you..."

"Isn't it obvious?" She whispered, feeling a sense of longing towards the black hedgehog, "I love you, Shadow. I can't hide it any longer. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that isn't possible...but at least let me have one night with you,"

The decision tugged at Shadow's sense of morality, "I...a-are you sure? You d-don't have to. Don't feel as if you have to..."

"Don't you want to?" Amy's eyes filled with worry.

He brushed a hand against her cheek, "Of course I do. I just don't want you to do something which you'll regret,"

"Trust me," She grinned, "I will not regret this,"

"Then, by all means," Shadow leant back. He'd never done it before – despite everyone's attitude towards him. He wasn't sure what to do.

However, when he felt Amy's lips on his, he didn't worry about that.

His worries had completely disappeared.

(...)

"I don't want the details," Rouge interrupted, with a blush, "I don't mind that you had sex, but please don't go into it. No pun intended,"

Shadow turned a shade of red that not even Knuckles could compete with, "I wasn't intending to. But, please, let me continue,"

"Go ahead. But try not to blush. Seeing you blush is like seeing a fish out of water,"

"I can't promise anything,"

(... N...)

"That was..." Shadow whispered, staring up at the ceiling. However, he was interrupted.

"Amazing," Amy mumbled, before kissing him again. He'd never seen this side to her. She was so confident and bold now...compared to her quiet and shy demeanour during the day.

The satin sheets were safely pulled around them, as they continued to lock lips with closed eyes and closed minds.

Suddenly the door burst open and a small gasp could be heard from the door way. Amy pulled herself away from Shadow before staring at their witness.

"Oh my..." She breathed, pulling the sheets around her bare skin as Shadow sat up.

A small rabbit was standing in front of them, with tears pouring down her face.

"How could you?!" She cried, clenching her fists as her shoulders shook, "I thought you were my friend?! First you betray me by going to this party and now this? Did you enjoy shattering my dreams?! Did you enjoy the feeling as you did it with him even though you knew how I felt?!"

"Cream! I'm so sorry!" Amy sobbed.

Cream stamped her foot in anger, "No! You're not sorry! You loved every second! You've always loved him! Even though I loved him first! You're evil! I HATE you! I never want to see you again! Enjoy being with him! It won't last! I never want to see you again! I hate you, Amy Rose! I wish you were dead!"

She fled, still crying. Amy's tears were dripping down her face as Shadow sat in pure shock.

"Amy..." He started, once he had snapped out of his trance. He rubbed her back, comfortingly, but she continued to cry, "It's okay..."

"No..." She whimpered, "It's not...I need to f-find her. I n-need to apologize,"

"For loving me?" Shadow muttered, feeling hurt.

"No. Well...I d-don't know. S-she's angry. She might even t-tell somebody about...u-us,"

He folded his arms, "That won't happen,"

"It m-might,"

"I won't let any harm come to you. I can't live without you, Amy," Shadow mumbled, taking her hand and sending kisses down Amy's neck. She gave a soft moan, but clambered out of the bed and hurriedly pulled on her dress.

"No. I n-need to find her. I'm sorry, Shadow. Please forgive me. I love you so much," She called as she buttoned up her dress and ran out of the room.

Shadow raised his hand, about to call out to her, but she had already gone. He sighed, staring out of the window, "I love you too..."

**A/C – *Dramatic music* The plot thickens! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review your comments ;D**


	7. Liar, liar - pants on fire

**Phew, I haven't updated in a while, but this chapter is VERY long so I hope it makes up for it! 5,000 words ;)**

**Thank you so much to:** ShadowsAngel1, Savvy0417, Drifting Guest, Guest, The High School Hero, ToxicWolf1132, Sara lovelymusic, waveandcipher, SonadowStories, Guest, TMNT15**! Thanks guys! :D Your reviews mean a lot! :D**

**So, this chapter is quite creepy yet insightful. I have to say – there is lot of information in this chapter! :D I'm quite proud of it! ;)**

**At an estimate, I'd say that this story has around...4 chapters left. Sorry, guys, but we're coming to the end! :/ I'm trying to wrap up a lot of my stories because I'm planning another big one! :D**

**Small amount of information for the new story: It centres around Sonic, Shadow and Silver. And, there's no Sonamy! I know! I'm trying to break away from Sonamy for a while. Long story ;)**

**However, I am prioritizing this story, along with a few others, to try and finish it. So, expect another update soon! :D**

**But for now, I hope you enjoy this long chapter! :D T.C**

Chapter 7 – Liar, liar - pants on fire

**(...1931...)**

"Miss Rouge, are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you," The ivory bat replied, through gritted teeth. She dug her nails into her palms in order to stop herself from screaming out in anger.

Cream the rabbit was at the centre of this mystery.

The sound of her heels slamming against the floor was echoing all around the house. A certain ebony hedgehog had just arrived through the front door, after a quick visit to Amy's grave, and could hear the sound of Rouge racing through the corridors. He stood at the front door, waiting until he watched her storm down the staircase with a murderous look.

"What are you doing?" He muttered, furiously, as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to one side – preventing her from leaving.

"What do you think!?" She hissed back, "I thought about what you told me had happened. That maid – Cream the rabbit – she had to have killed Amy!"

"WHAT!?" Shadow covered up his shout with a cough, as he got a few confused glances from the nearby maids, "Rouge!? What the hell!? You can't go around accusing people of killing Amy – especially when you don't even have any proof! There weren't any witnesses!"

"Exactly!" Rouge pulled her arm out of Shadow's grasp, "There were no witnesses! So, it would have been very easy to just push her off the balcony, wouldn't it?! She'd bound to be annoyed after seeing her best friend having sex with her crush,"

"Yes, alright!" Shadow snapped, as a blush spread across his face, "Could you keep it down, please?"

"Are you embarrassed?" Rouge asked, folding her arms and wearing a cocky yet suggestive smirk.

He sighed, sounding troubled. Rouge began to regret her comment, "It brings up memories which are sad yet thrilling for me. And then I am forced to remember that I will never do that again with Amy. It hurts, Rouge. And it hurts to see you getting so wound up about all this and accusing people for no good reason. You're obsessed with finding someone to blame. Just let Amy's memory rest. Please,"

Rouge almost felt tempted to agree and drop the whole subject. That would be a lot easier than running around and piecing together this unsolvable puzzle. Rouge never knew that Amy led such a mysterious life, "I'm sorry, Shadow. I will try to keep trouble from your door. But I can't rest until I find out what happened. It's driving me insane! I can't sleep, I struggle to eat and I can't keep my mind off it! There is something that I've missed, or rather, someone,"

"Urgh," Shadow broke away, staring into thin air, "Fine. It's clear that I'm no t going to change your mind. Just, please, don't drag me into it. I want to quietly morn her. I don't want to relive the past again,"

"Okay," Rouge nodded, heading in the other direction towards the kitchen, "I can do that, at least,"

**(...)**

"Cream! You need to come with me! NOW!"

"Oh my!"

"Cream, what have you done?!"

"Mistress, surely she hasn't done anything awful? Right?"

"I knew she was involved in something bad. I told you,"

"I don't believe it,"

"Jesus..."

"Child, you're on a warning,"

Cream didn't say anything, as Rouge took her by the shoulders and led her out of the kitchen. The rest of the maids were in a flurry of gossip and theories. However, the rabbit blocked out their shocked and unimpressed voices, as she was pulled and dragged into Rouge's room.

"You may leave now," The mistress ordered the cleaning staff, leaving just her and Cream in the room.

"Is there something you would l-like to t-talk to me about, mistress?" Cream stuttered, losing her calm expressionless demeanour. Rouge paused, before sitting at her desk with her head resting in her hands.

"It concerns Amy Rose,"

Cream's eyes glazed over with tears. Rouge felt a pang of pity but couldn't bring herself to go over and hug the small rabbit. Her throat felt tense and frozen just speaking that name, and the female bat was also fighting back tears.

"Mistress...I-I...d-don't want to...please, mistress...I'm s-still m-mourning..."

Rouge slammed her hands down on the desk, furiously, "You will sit. You will answer my questions. You are the only one who can help me uncover the truth,"

With a small yelp and a couple of whimpers, Cream leapt into the seat opposite to try and stay on Rouge's good side. She knew what the bat was capable of.

With her lip bit, Rouge struggle to stay rational. Acting angry was easier than being upset – but she didn't want to be either. If she was cruel to Cream, the rabbit would be unlikely to tell her anything useful.

"Where were you when Amy Rose died?"

"I...I...was in the main room,"

Rouge fought back the urge to scream, 'LIAR!'

"Had you been with Amy at all that night?"

"We'd...spoken,"

"What had you spoken about?"

Cream's muscles tensed, "...I'd rather not talk about it, mistress,"

_Guilty conscience, eh, Cream_, Rouge thought, bitterly, but chose to give a small nod, "Right, do you know who Amy was with when she died?"

"...Master Shadow, mistress. They were...they were..."

"I need you to tell me the truth, Cream,"

"They were...just talking..."

Rouge sighed, standing up and scraping her chair back. The rabbit sniffed, looking even more scared than ever. The bat sauntered round the desk, before facing Cream with a stormy expression, "I don't appreciate being lied to,"

"W-what?"

"I know you're lying!" Rouge screeched, blinking, furiously, "And I think you killed Amy Rose!"

The silence was thick and guilty. Rouge hadn't meant to yell that out loud. She hadn't meant to say it at all. And she was feeling worse than ever as Cream cried, quietly, with her head bent.

"Is that...what everyone thinks...?" She murmured, with a hint of despair.

Rouge opened her mouth to speak, but the door was flung open and stopped her from talking. Shadow the hedgehog was standing opposite them with a blank expression – but with thunderous eyes. He casually strolled into the room, flinging the door shut behind him. He laid sight on Cream and his expression softened.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything...?" He inquired, hinting heavily at Rouge.

"Well..." Rouge was about to send him out of the room, but she noticed the blush which was spreading on Cream's cheeks and the small smile that graced her mouth, "...no. Not at all. In fact, I think you can help us,"

Shadow's eyes widened, "I can?"

"Yes..." Rouge turned to Cream, "Cream. I want to find out who killed Amy Rose. I had two main suspects. And they're both in this room,"

She expected Shadow to explode with rage – but he simply lowered his head and coughed, sadly. Cream didn't say anything, but listened with eagerness.

"...so, now that all the important parties have gathered, we can solve this mystery," With her arms folded, the bat cleared her throat, "So, on the night of her death, we know that Amy Rose was with Shadow for most of the evening. Then they went upstairs and...well, I don't think I need to say it. Cream bursts in and flees. Amy runs after her. Shadow, where did you go after that?"

"I stayed in the room," Shadow answered, monotonously, "Reading and working. I didn't feel like socializing after that but I didn't think that Amy would appreciate me running after her. I wish to god that I had now,"

"So, that just leaves you, Cream. What happened after that? Where did you and Amy go?"

Cream stood up, smoothing her dress out and staring at the two older Mobians, "If this is going to help uncover the truth, I will tell you. But before I tell you, I need you to believe me that I didn't kill her,"

"Okay," The two of them replied.

"I ran to the balcony. I've always liked it up there because it makes me feel calmer. But...now...I don't...I can't...it..." Cream's lip wobbled, as her head lowered. Rouge stayed where she was, her icy blue eyes looking doubtful. With a disapproving sigh at Rouge, Shadow marched over to the small rabbit and patted her back, awkwardly. Cream flinched as her body tensed but she didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, Cream," Rouge muttered, feeling guiltier, "But what happened on the balcony? What did Amy do?"

"I was looking out at the night sky...thinking. And then she ran out towards me..."

**(...1972...)**

"What do we do, Silver?" Blaze fought back her frustration, "I don't think I feel safe here anymore. I'm constantly looking behind me to see if she's there,"

"I'll protect you," He vowed, pulling the tense cat into his arms. She relaxed, making small purrs as Silver pushed back her hair from her face.

"What does she want?!" Blaze sniffed, burrowing her head into Silver's chest.

He let out a sigh, dejectedly, "I don't know. If Knuckles doesn't tell us what he knows – I don't think we'll ever know,"

"You've seen how stubborn he is," Blaze muttered, "We would have to point a gun at him before he told us something, willingly,"

"I can arrange that," Silver chuckled, but stopped smiling when Blaze punched his arm, scornfully.

"Don't even joke!" She warned him, with a fire of determination dancing in her eyes.

Silver's eyes widened, "Joking! Joking! Calm down!"

A rattling came from the pipes which were nailed against the wall. The couple glanced up, watching as the metal vibrated and made loud gurgling sounds. The two of them were sitting on the edge of the bed, embraced, but Silver untangled himself from Blaze's grasp and stood up.

"The boiler must be overheating," He muttered, nervously, "I'll go and turn it off. Give it a break; it could break if I don't,"

"Silver," The purple cat had a firm grip on her husband's arm, "Don't,"

"Why?"

"What if...she's there? Waiting for you,"

The hedgehog didn't reply. In truth, he was terrified. Like Blaze had said, he was also looking around and waiting for her to appear again. He didn't want to stay here a moment longer. He'd already started searching for houses that were for sale and he'd also contacted an estate agents.

But he couldn't let Blaze know how scared he was. Not when she was also terrified and was relying on him to protect her.

"I'll be okay," Silver bit his lip, before planting a kiss on Blaze's head, "Are you okay for a moment here?"

"Yes," She whispered, feeling anything but okay.

Reluctantly, the grey hedgehog stepped away from her and, slowly but surely, opened the door. He disappeared from Blaze's sight, making her feel alone and cold.

Her hands immediately went to her wedding ring – and she began to twist it around her finger in a small gesture of reassurance. It made her feel calmer and safer to know that the gold ring was wedged firmly on her ring finger. It made her feel like Silver was always with her. No matter what.

Her eyes fluttered to a close, instinctively, as Blaze began to distract herself with memories of their wedding. It had been the best day of her life. Undoubtedly. The laughter, the happiness, her parents looking proud of her and seeing Silver's handsome face break out in a smile every five seconds...

A sudden bang came from the window. Her eyes were forced open and her gaze darted around the room. No one was there; accept the shadows and low hum of the boiler. The wind was picking up outside and, as Blaze journeyed towards the window, she could see that the bang had been caused by a nearby tree branch banging against the glass. A smile graced her features as she felt a small reassurance that it wasn't anything sinister.

The cat turned around, blinking for a second, before feeling her blood run cold. She was there. In the corner of the room – right in the shadows. Her skin had become a papery white and she looked a lot bloodier than the last time they had seen her. Her jade eyes were lifeless and her limbs seemed lank.

Blaze let out a small scream, covering her mouth with her shaking hands. Tears sprung to her eyes and she opened her mouth to let out another high pitched scream.

"SILVER!"

**(...2013...)**

The photo fluttered out of his hand and fell to the floor, as Sonic the hedgehog tried to recover from his state of shock.

She was looking worse than ever. Her bruises had turned black and her pink hair was tangled over her eyes. She was barefoot and it looked like she had walked over a pile of cut glass: her feet were unbelievably bloody. Her thighs, which had been covered in cuts the last time they saw her, were now stained and smudged with red, oozing blood. She seemed oblivious to her condition and pain, as she gripped the knife in her hand – making the cuts on her knuckles split and bleed.

Tails let out a sound which sounded halfway between a sob and a scream; in response, Sonic grabbed his shoulders and pushed the fox behind him. Tails clutched Sonic's arm so tight that Sonic could feel bruises forming on his arm.

"Stay away from us," Sonic warned, as he and Tails backed against the wall. Amy didn't respond nor blink – but she kept edging closer.

"Please!" Tails begged, not attempting to wipe the tears which were pouring down his face in large streaks, "Don't hurt Sonic!"

The fox's plea went unnoticed, as she continued to stride towards them, gripping the knife tighter and tighter until she was standing in front of them with the knife raised above her head. Sonic stared straight into her eyes to find a way to reason with her – but was met with a blank gaze.

"Cream wouldn't want you to do this!" Tails blurted out, earning a confused stare from Sonic. However, the stab of pain which the two of them were waiting for never came.

Amy blinked, as tears welled up in her eyes. The knife loosened in her grasp and she clutched her neck, as if trying to eliminate pain in her neck. The boys held their breath, waiting to see if they would also suffer the same fate as Amy - death.

She cried out in despair and gripped the knife again. The fox and blue hedgehog squeezed each other's wrists as they closed their eyes and waited for the attack.

There was a small thud and then an ominous silence.

**(...1931...7****th**** August...)**

The night air was cold – but the tension between the two friends was colder. Cream the rabbit was staring out at the view, with tears clinging onto her eyelashes. Her shawl was pulled tightly around her bare arms, but it couldn't block out the cold sense of anger which was lingering in her heart. Images of Amy and Shadow were racing through her mind. She couldn't blot out the betrayal.

Nor could she block out the overwhelming truth that Shadow didn't feel the same way.

"C-creamy?" Amy's voice floated in the breeze, sending a shiver down Cream's back. With a small sigh and quick blink to banish her tears, Cream turned round to face her ex-best friend with as much decorum and maturity as she could.

Amy Rose looked distraught. Cream knew that Amy had a good heart and she would feel guilty – but she didn't realise that she would hurt this much. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and her once-shining jade eyes were shining with sadness instead of happiness.

Cream struggled to stay cold as she watched Amy wipe at her eyes and nose, "Don't call me that,"

"Please...Cream..." The rose hedgehog fell to her knees, clasping her hands on her thighs, "I'm so sorry! It's all a huge misunderstanding!"

The young rabbit blinked back her own tears, "There is nothing that has been misunderstood. You love Shadow. And you don't...d-don't,"

She couldn't bring herself to say that Amy didn't care about her. Because the truth was, Amy had done nothing but care about Cream from the first day she met her.

"Okay..." Amy took a deep breath, trying to control her sobs. She was scared that she would say something whilst sobbing and end up getting into a hiccupping fit – unable to say anything at all, "...this is very, very awkward and I am so sorry. I know you like him. I was...I was just...overwhelmed...I don't know...I...I..."

"Does he love you?"

More sobs from the pink hedgehog, as she looked up at the rabbit's thunderous gaze, "W-what?"

"Does he love you as much as you love him?"

"I...don't...know..."

"Don't tell me you don't know!" Cream's voice rose as she yelled – but there was a lump in her throat which was painfully telling her to stop shouting. If she yelled too much, she feared that the pain wouldn't subside and she would struggle to breathe, "Not when it's so painfully obvious to anyone with sight! Don't tell me you don't know when you've felt his love for you!"

"N-no...I..." Amy sighed, wiping her face, quickly, "Let's face it, Cream. I'm n-never going to end up with him. N-neither of us w-would..."

"So that makes it okay for you to blatantly break my heart!?" Cream had vowed, mentally, that she wouldn't cry. But her emotions were betraying her and she had no choice but to ignore the feeling of water dripping down her cheeks and neck, "And what's worse is that you didn't even feel that you could tell me how you felt! You lied to me!"

"What else could I do?! Cream, what would you have done?! It would have broken your heart there and then. I wanted to stay friends with you!"

"Well," Cream sucked in her breath, quietly. She could feel her stomach churning and pulling as she battled between head and heart. On one hand, her head was telling her to never forgive Amy for what she had done. But, her heart was whispering that Amy didn't do anything wrong. Not intentionally, "You're doing a great job at trying to keep our friendship,"

"What would you have done, Cream?" Amy stumbled to her feet, seemingly uncoordinated and almost drunk, if Cream didn't know better. Amy was one of those girls who wouldn't touch a drop of alcohol. Then again, Cream was also one of those girls, "If you were me – and you had been with Shadow, there and then, what would you have done?"

Silence. It was true – that Cream would have done exactly the same as Amy, if she had been lucky enough to have been in the same situation as the pink hedgehog. Of course she would have. Okay, she might not have gone as far as Amy, due to her age – but she would have kissed him. Definitely.

But Cream couldn't remind herself of that fact. She kept thinking about what Amy had said. 'And _you_ had been with Shadow'. The young rabbit couldn't help but feel herself being eaten up with jealousy. Because, the fact was, that she _hadn't _been there with Shadow. And Amy had.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Cream sobbed, clutching her temples in an attempt to keep the truth from spilling out into the air. Amy stepped forward with her hand outstretched, but the rabbit batted her away and glared at her through teary eyes.

"Cream, please!"

"No! I've had enough of this! I don't know what's right anymore! I don't want anything to do with you ever again!"

The comment struck a blow at Amy's heart, "Don't say that. Don't say that, please. I beg of you...don't do this..."

"No. I can't face it anymore," Cream straightened her back, with eyes full of determination and regret, "I think it's better for the both of us if we act like we don't know each other. That way, we'll both be happy,"

"Cream, don't!" Tears rolled down the hedgehog's face, "My heart can't take the strain! I don't want to lose you!"

"Goodbye, Amy. Enjoy the rest of your evening," Cream the rabbit pushed past Amy's feeble attempts to make her stay. The pink hedgehog wanted to run after her but her legs buckled and she fell to the floor in a heap of sobs. She watched Cream's retreating figure as she walked through the door, before the tears started falling again and the guilt reappeared in painful memories.

**(...1931...)**

"What...?" The bat stepped back, knocking into her desk and clutching the polished rim of the desk, "I don't understand! You...didn't push her?!"

"I told you," Cream whispered, "I didn't hurt her. I was angry. Furious, even...but I would never do that to Amy. She was my best friend, despite what I said. I would never do anything to harm or hurt her,"

Rouge's breaths were jagged and short, "I'm sorry. I should have believed you. I just..."

"I know what you mean," Cream turned to Shadow, "What you said. About wishing that you had never left her. I try to go to sleep at night and all I can think is that if I hadn't left her and been so annoyed...she would still be alive and sleeping in the room next to me,"

The ebony hedgehog didn't look at her; simply nodded in agreement.

A bang came from the other end of the room, as Rouge slammed her fist on the desk, "It doesn't make sense?! She was alone then?! I don't get it! We're even further away from the truth than we were this morning! How did she die?!"

Shadow shrugged, "Maybe she really did fall,"

"Urgh!" The bat threw her hands over her head, "She didn't fall, Shadow! She wouldn't do that! She was careful! She wouldn't just fall!"

"Maybe she did. You saw what kind of shoes she was wearing. I would be surprised if someone didn't stumble in those high heels,"

"Shadow, you're not a girl. I've seen Amy walk up and down those stairs hundred times without falling over in those shoes. And the stairs are a lot more dangerous than a flat balcony,"

"Maybe something made her dizzy," Cream leapt out of the chair, suddenly having a brain wave. She, like Rouge, didn't believe that Amy would just fall. She knew how careful and calm her friend was, "Something which made her lose her balance,"

Rouge nodded, feeling motivated. They were finally getting somewhere, "Like what?"

"Amy did seem a little bit drunk. Like she'd been intoxicated or drugged," Cream frowned, "But she didn't drink alcohol. Ever. And she didn't drink anything when she was with me,"

"Nor me," Rouge sighed, before turning to Shadow, who had become very withdrawn and quiet, "Shadow, what's wrong? What is it?"

"A drink, you say?" He muttered, staring at the floor, intently.

Cream gulped, shooting a quick glance at Rouge, "Yes..."

"Shadow... what did she drink?"

"I don't know," The hedgehog stared at the two girls with a mixture of worry and sadness, "I don't think she knew either. She was thirsty. So she grabbed the nearest drink she could find,"

"Now it just leaves one question," Rouge slumped into the chair, as the realisation of what happened hit her like a ton of weights, "What was in that drink? And who did it?"

**(...1972...)**

With his heart in his throat, Silver crept down the hallway towards the boiler room. It was in his sight – and, luckily for him, Amy was nowhere to found.

Yanking the door open and ignoring the heat that was slapping his face, Silver quickly switched the boiler off and slammed the door. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning on his heel and heading towards the room where Blaze was waiting for him.

_**Snip. Snip. Snip.**_

His ears pricked up as a frown formed on his face.

_**Snip. Snip. Snip.**_

The unmistakable sound of scissors was cutting away at his confidence as he turned in the direction of the noise. It was coming from the main bedroom.

_**Snip. Snip. Snip.**_

The door handle was cold against his gloves, as he took a deep breath and charged into the room. The noise was louder but there was no one there. However, the cutting scissors were coming from the cupboard in the corner.

_**Snip. Snip. Snip.**_

Figuring that Amy couldn't be in the cupboard, he paused for a moment. If there really were moving scissors in that cupboard, what was to stop them from cutting him? What if they killed him? What would happen to Blaze if he died, right here, right now?

But the curiosity was burning at him. Blaze would be in more danger if he didn't find out what was in the cupboard. Taking in a deep breath, the grey hedgehog pulled the door open, with his body tensed and prepared. He glanced around in the darkness, before laying sight on a small, red, journal with some immobile scissors lying next to it.

With caution, he grabbed the journal and slammed the cupboard shut, pushing the idea of the scissors attacking him firmly to the back of his mind. The noise had stopped and he was safe – that was all that mattered.

The journal was relatively normal – a few swirly patterns on the front and nothing elaborate. Silver flicked the book open, scanning through the pages. Black, swoopy writing was scrawled on all of the lines and even a few diagrams, which were drawn with precision.

Silver frowned. The diagrams were maps of the house. Was this Amy's journal? Why would she draw a map of her own house? And why was the balcony circled?

He turned to the front cover of the journal, hoping for an inscription. On the first page, right in the corner, was the title: 'Property of Rouge the bat. The mystery of Amy Rose's death'

"Rouge...the bat...?" Silver muttered, flipping through the pages. Each one was labelled as a chapter, as if it was a story and not real life, "Who was she...?"

"SILVER!"

With the journal firmly wedged in his hand, Silver the hedgehog burst out of the room, hoping he could get to Blaze in time.

**(...2013...)**

Whilst he was famous for his speed, Sonic the hedgehog slowly opened his eyes and peered around the room. He couldn't see anybody in the room, but he could feel someone quivering next to him.

"Tails..." He mumbled, pulling the frightened fox into his arms, "Are you okay?"

His reply was shaky, "Y-y-yeah..."

The two males looked up, gulping at the sight of the knife embedded in the wall. They didn't dare take it out, but knew that it would scare them as long as they left it there.

Stretching up, the blue blur grabbed the handle of the blade and tugged it free, leaving a small slit in the white wall. He grimaced at the sight of it and raced downstairs to put it in the kitchen draw. He returned to Tails, wanting to reassure him, but not knowing what to say.

"What do we do?" Tails croaked, glancing around the room, obviously tense.

Sonic sucked in his breath, trying to stay calm in front of Tails, "I'm going to ring up Sally. She might be able to take us in for a while. We can't stay here. You're not safe,"

"Neither are you. We're in this together, Sonic," The kitsune reminded him, "But you said we shouldn't run. You said we should help her,"

"I know, Tails," Sonic snapped, feeling confused, scared, guilty and helpless all at the same time. It was messing with his head. This wasn't good for either of them. He was about to walk out of the room, when Tails said something which made him stop.

"You said we would help her because we were heroes,"

**(...)**

Sonic couldn't help but think that Tails had a point. As he clambered out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his torso, he felt guilty for snapping at Tails and immediately running away from the situation. He'd never faced anything like this and it scared him to think that he didn't know what to do. There was no antidote or machine which could fix this. No amount of battling robots or fighting Eggman would help Amy and save everyone.

Slumping through the hallways to his room, Sonic paused in front of a mirror to straighten one of his quills. The mirror had steamed up from the condensation in the bathroom – and something was in the mirror. He bent closer to get a better look and was alarmed by what he saw.

In the mist on the mirror, a stick figure had been drawn. Its left arm was drawn upwards and Sonic's heart froze when he saw that it was holding a knife. Its arm was pointing to the doorway which led to the main bedroom.

_Why won't she leave us alone_, Sonic begged, in his mind.

He crept along the hall, before poking his head around the door way. As expected, the room was empty and silent. However, something was lying on the cream white carpet – drawing Sonic's attention to the object, instantly.

On the floor was a little red journal.


	8. Memories of the past

**I can't believe that we're nearing the end of this story. So much pressure to make the ending good! XD Here's a secret, I don't usually plan the endings of my stories. Of course, I have a basic plot in mind for all of my stories, but I don't plan it to the final detail. I just write when I feel like it and see where the story takes me. However, since this is a mystery story, I had to...wait for it...actually plan it! :O Dun, dun, dun! But even now, I'm still tying up loose ends so that the ending is the best it can be. Expectations, dammit...;D**

**Pink, fluffy unicorns and quadruple rainbows full of thanks to**: Savvy0417, ShadowsAngel1, DeLuna The Cat, Nitro13, SonadowStories, LADYDROIDZ, bearvalley3365, The High School Hero, ToxicWolf1132, Guest/Kat, Guest, Guest, Quillink14! **You guys are covered in awesome sauce! (Along with people who have favourite/followed/are enjoying this story!) :D**

Savvy0417 – **Ahhh, the mystery continues ;) thank you very much! :) The answers will be revealed soon...**

ShadowsAngel1 – **Ha ha XD I'm glad you like it! Thank you :D**

DeLuna The Cat – **Creepy but awesome – thank you very much! :D I'm glad I've managed to make it creepy, because I haven't written many ghost stories until now. It's very fun to write! :D**

Nitro13 – **Aw, thank you! :3 And it shall be revealed soon! XD**

SonadowStories – **Teehee! :D Well, here is more! And yeah, I just want to move away from SonAmy in my new stories, just temporarily. I don't want to always be associated with Sonamy :D Ahh, I quite like reading Sonadow fics :D I know some people really don't like reading about them, but for me, it's just the same as reading a SonAmy fic. Just replaced by Shadow and Sonic. And the banter is always awesome in Sonadow fics ;) I'll have a look at your work soon! :D Ahhh...I'm not saying anything! ;D**

LADYDROIDZ – **Ha ha! :D It's not that scary is it? ;D Creeped out is good...Paranoia isn't quite so good! ;D I'm glad you like it ;)**

bearvalley3365 – **Thank you! :D It's great to know that you're enjoying it! :D Umm...in response to your question, if I had to pick panda bears or gorillas for all my stories...probably pandas cause they look really cute in real life and when they are drawn in Chibi! :3 I love gorillas as animals, but I probably wouldn't like them interacting with each other in a story setting. But that's just my opinion! :D And I'm not going to say anything or I might give it away, but your detective skills are very good ;) But, more shall be revealed in this chapter! :D**

The High School Hero – **It was really cool witnessing your detective skills! Honestly! You should become a detective! ;D But I can't say anything until the end of the story ;D At the end, if anyone still has any questions (which, if I don't screw it up, shouldn't happen) I will be able to answer them! ^_^ It's so annoying not being able to say anything! XD Yeah...no Sonamy! I'm okay though! ;D It won't come out for a while but there are plans for it! Well, good luck with your updates! :D I shall look forward to them, eagerly! May you be louder than thunder, FFN BFF! :D T.C**

ToxicWolf1132 – **Ha ha! XD Thank you! :D And I saw on your other review (thank you for that :3) that you reviewed with an account. Have you just joined? If so, welcome! (Kind of, since you've been here for a while...yeah, I'm no longer making sense ;D)**

Guest/Kat – **Thank you very much! :D I'll definitely finish it ;)**

Guest – **Teehee, of course I'm still updating! :D I might not do it...very often, but I try to! ;D**

Guest – **Ah, sorry about that ;D I gotta admit, I am a supporter of Shadamy, but I don't think it could ever happen in the games. (Unlike Sonamy! ;D) Well, I hope the mystery and creepiness makes up for the shadamy for you! :D**

Quillink14 – **Ha ha! :D Is everyone on this site an amazing detective? :D I can't say anything – which is unbelievably unfair ;D All I can say is that you're picking up the right clues and you'll have to wait for some more answers! ;D And thank you very much! :D Your comments are really appreciated! :3**

**Actually, something that **Quillink14 **said has reminded me of something else. I might be planning to do a sequel of 'Timelock House'. However, it will be like Marchlands and Lightfields – which means that it won't be a sequel. What I'm making a rubbish job of saying is, if all goes to plan and people want me to do a second one, there would be another story with another scene, another set of characters, another mystery, another ghost...you get my drift. Completely different but with the same layout. Three eras and three set of characters.**

**So, here's my question: would you guys like another story in the 'Timelock House' series? Please post a review with your opinion, because I won't do one if everyone says 'No way' or doesn't say anything at all. But, if the votes are good, I should be able to post one by October. I tell you what, if you guys would like another one, I will post the first chapter on the 31****st**** of October! :D Halloween!**

**Yep...I really did just set myself a deadline. Oh dear ;D**

**But, I shall keep my promise if you would like another one! So, please tell me what you think because it really does help me out (oh dear...I sound like a Youtuber now! ;D).**

**Anyway, enough babbling, let's return to the scene and see if Blaze has had her head ripped off by a zombie. I'm kidding, but that would be interesting...**

**Sorry Blaze ;)**

_Chapter 8 – Memories of the past_

**(...1931...)**

"What are you doing?"

A couple of days ago, Rouge would have assumed that Shadow was asking with an irritated state of mind. However, this time, his question actually sounded genuine and curious.

"I'm writing up the current events," Rouge muttered, clicking her pen closed and admiring her handy work, "You know, so we have a record of what happened. Now we can refer back to this to see if we've missed anything,"

"You're almost enjoying this, aren't you?"

The bat sighed, deeply, trying to fight her urge to yell at the ebony hedgehog, "Of course I'm not, you idiot. Don't you dare say that. I'm trying to find out what happened. I'm trying to let Amy's soul rest,"

"Hmph,"

"There's the Shadow that I know,"

"Ha ha," Shadow mumbled, sourly, "What now?"

"We find out what was in that cup. Did you see it?"

"Yeah, I watched from the stairs as Amy went to get the drink,"

"So...what did it look like? Where was it?"

Shadow shrugged, looking vacant, "I don't know. It was a normal cup. Red, I think,"

"Urgh," Rouge rolled her eyes, shooting a glare at Shadow, "Come on, Shadow! Think! Where was it?"

The hedgehog paced back and forth, looking blank, but intently staring at the floor as he tried to spark the memory, "It was...it...on the window!"

"The window? What?"

"The window sill! It was a red cup on the window sill! She downed it in one,"

"Wait..." The bat stood up, abruptly, as her hands fluttered up to her head, "Which window sill?"

"By the front door,"

"I don't understand..."

"What? This means we can find out who left it there! They must have put something in it and hoped that someone would drink it. But, who would do such a thing...?"

"Shadow..."

"And why? There's no reason for murder, is there? Maybe it's that scoundrel, Scourge. He has always wanted to get back at me ever since we were children..."

Rouge collapsed into the chair, aghast, "Shadow! Shut up!"

With a hurt look written all over his face, the dark hedgehog stepped towards her, placing a hand on her cheek and staring at her teary eyes, "What is it?"

"It was mine, Shadow," Rouge buried her head in the male's thick, black fur, "Oh god...if I hadn't left it there...she wouldn't have...dear god..."

"What was yours?"

"T-the cup..."

**(...1972...)**

She didn't seem to have a violent intent, but that didn't stop Blaze from crying out and begging for her to vanish. Amy seemed to wear a look of pity, instead of hatred. The curtains were billowing out, even though the window was shut, and a flash of lightening cracked at the sky. Instead of the branch, rain was now pattering against the window.

In the flash of light created by the lightening, Blaze peered at the ghost with a fearful look. She looked real – as if Blaze could reach out and grab her thin wrists. Her expression was blank – as if her very soul had been sucked out of her. Like a test subject who had just been zapped with the latest batch of chemicals.

The purple cat crawled into the corner of the room, feeling a sense of despair as she felt the prickly wall scratch at her back. Amy didn't advance towards her, simply stared at her and gave her a pitiful smile.

Footsteps thudded outside the room and Blaze looked up to see Silver at the doorway, anxiously glancing around the room. His eyes laid on Blaze before, reluctantly, glaring at Amy. He shuffled towards her, clutching a little red book in his hands.

Another set of footsteps could be heard making their way up the stairs, temporarily distracting Blaze and Silver as they stared at the doorway. A familiar red echidna charged into the room with unbelievable speed, despite his age. Knuckles clenched his fists and held them up towards Amy, threatening her, before signalling at Silver to get Blaze.

"Amy, stop this!" Knuckles ordered with a gruff approach, staring into her eyes, which were now blazing with emotion, "You've done enough!"

The pink hedgehog seemed to ignore Blaze and Silver, as they shuffled next to the wall towards the doorway, "At least I did something!"

The echidna's eyes widened, before he took the cat and hedgehog by the shoulders; pulling them out of the room and into the corridor, "We need to leave. NOW!"

The three of them stumbled away from the ghost, as Knuckles slammed the door shut, with a weary look. Silver placed a hand over his chest as he caught his breath, but Blaze seemed uneasy.

"She can walk through walls! She's a ghost! Wood won't stop her!"

"No," Knuckles muttered, not making eye contact, "But it will give you time to get away. You must have family? You need to get away from this place,"

"We can't just run away!" Blaze placed her hands on Knuckles' fists, which were clutching his wooden walking stick like his life depended on it.

Silver groaned, running a hand through his quills, "Maybe he's right..."

"No! He isn't!" Blaze turned towards her husband, about to list all the reasons why they needed to stay, but her attention was drawn towards the red book in his hands, "What's that?"

Everyone's eyes dropped onto the book in Silver's hand. The grey hedgehog made a small sound of laughter, which scolded them all, "It's nothing! Just a journal! Is this really the time?!"

"Silver...?" Knuckles stepped towards him, seeming to become a lot taller and bigger than usual, "Where did you get that?"

"Just a cupboard in the main bedroom. It belonged to some old bat named Rouge. Not that it matters! We need to think of what we're going to do next! Not discuss someone from the past!"

Knuckles closed his eyes, nostalgically, "Rouge..."

"Let me guess," Blaze folded her arms, fleetingly giving the echidna a look of pity, "You knew her too?"

"I...yes..."

Silver's ears drooped, as he felt sympathy for the old echidna, "Knuckles..."

"How did she die?" Blaze asked, snapping both the males into surprise.

Knuckles frowned, before sighing, "Rouge? She died from heart disease, several years ago. She did always rush around too much..."

"No," Blaze raised her hand to cut Knuckles off before he got too teary eyed about this 'Rouge', "Sorry, Knuckles, but I didn't mean Rouge. I meant Amy,"

"What makes you think she didn't have a normal death?" Knuckles asked, tensing up and becoming colder by the second.

Blaze rolled her eyes and wore a sarcastic smile, "Oh, come on, Knuckles! You won't tell us anything about her! There must be something that's stopping you from telling us. We're in the danger zone, Knuckles. We're the ones in danger. If you have anything to say that could help us, we need to hear it! It could set Amy free!"

Knuckles didn't say anything. His violet eyes had been staring at the floor all the time that Blaze had been speaking – but as soon as she finished, his gaze fell on the book in Silver's grasp. Silver followed the echidna's gaze before frowning.

"The journal..." Silver's golden eyes lit up in recognition, "Rouge documented it, didn't she?! She thought that there was something wrong with the death too and wrote it down,"

"You can tell us what happened," Blaze turned back to the echidna, feeling proud that her husband had found something which could uncover everything, "Or we read the journal. Your choice,"

Silence. No sign of Amy and no sign of resistance from Knuckles. The tired old echidna was tired of lying to people. He'd lied for years to the people he loved. He needed to help these two. He couldn't live with himself if they were harmed because he couldn't face the ghost of his past.

Rouge would beg him to tell them.

"Please...Knuckles..."

The plea of the grey hedgehog reminded Knuckles of himself when he was young and in love with Rouge. It was decided.

"I will tell you the whole truth," The red male announced, sending hope through Blaze and Silver, "The journal will tell you most of the story. But there is one fact that Rouge didn't managed to recover,"

"What is it?"

"Read and find out,"

**(...2013...)**

"**Chapter 1 - The murder**

_**Basic facts**_

Victim_:_ _Amelia Rose_

Gender: _Female_

Age: _Eighteen years old_

Status: _Maid_

Marriage status: _Unmarried_

Date and time of death: _7__th__ August 1931/23:40-12:03 (roughly)_

Time that body was discovered: _12:03_

Place of death: _Timelock House, the balcony_

Cause of death: _Falling from the balcony_,"

"I never knew there was a balcony there," Sonic muttered, swallowing down his chilli dog and cleaning the sauce from his fingers. Tails was sitting opposite, calmly sipping his tea and reading the journal aloud. The cafe was practically empty, but Sonic and Tails had chosen a seat at the back – away from prying eyes.

"Me neither. Maybe they removed it after her death? This is terrible though...I never dreamed that she had fallen from the balcony,"

"No...I thought she'd been stabbed or something,"

"Apparently not. But, I now remember where I heard her name before. There's a graveyard in this village. I remember seeing her grave when we first arrived here,"

"At least she was buried near her home. Now, what does the rest of the journal say? Who wrote it again?"

"Oh! Right...uh...Rouge the bat? That's the mistress of the house, I think. And I think Shadow was the master. They were married,"

"Rouge and Shadow? Married?" Sonic frowned, finishing off his snack, "So...Amy had an affair with Shadow? Maybe Rouge killed her!"

"Wait a minute! There's more! Ummm..._**addition details**_...

Injuries: _Smashed skull, smashed ribs, broken right leg, fractured left leg, dislocated wrist, internal bleeding and organ damage_

Factors of death_: High heels, possible intoxication_

Medical health of victim_: Perfectly normal. No diseases, allergies or problems which required medicine. A perfectly healthy eighteen year old_

Witnesses: _No one_

Suspects-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic straightened out his back, sitting bolt upright as he gave Tails a worried glance, "Suspects? I was joking when I said that maybe Rouge killed her! They actually thought that Amy was murdered?!"

"I guess so..." Tails shrugged, skim reading the journal's contents, "I mean, it does seem a bit weird. By herself, on a balcony...the perfect scene for a murder,"

"Hmmm..." Sonic was only half listening. The seats which Tails and Sonic had chosen were right at the back of the cafe – far away from anyone else. The nearby tables were a good few feet away, so that the two of them could speak in private. However, as Tails started to read the details out, an elderly rabbit took the seat nearest to the males. Sonic had noticed it out of the corner of his eye, but thought nothing of it until she kept staring at him. Sonic glanced away for a moment, but looked up again to see her still staring. His cheeks burnt as he tried to concentrate on what Tails was telling him.

"...so, that rules out that theory. Sonic, are you even listening?"

"Uhhh? What? Yeah, course!" Sonic shot her a small glare and hoped she would take the hint, before turning his attention back to Tails, "Carry on,"

"Oookay...well, apparently, Rouge wrote this journal but didn't tell the authorities about her investigations. The police ruled it as an 'accident'. But Rouge, and several other people, thought otherwise. But, you'll never guess who Rouge suspected was the killer!"

"Hmmm...?" Sonic's attention was elsewhere, again. The rabbit wasn't obviously staring anymore, but she kept digging into her purse and pulling out a piece of paper – before glancing between Sonic and the paper. The blue hedgehog was starting to feel uncomfortable, as she eyed him up and down. It continued for several minutes.

Glance at Sonic. Look back at the paper. Look at Sonic. Look at paper. Sonic. Paper. Sonic. Paper. Sonic. Paper.

"Sonic!" Tails snapped the hedgehog out of his daze, making him jump in fright, "What is the matter?!"

Sonic leant forward, whispering to his best friend, "That woman...the rabbit, over there. Why is she staring at me?"

"She isn't...oh wait, she is. What's that piece of paper?"

"How should I know? But it's creeping me out! Have I got chilli sauce on my face or something?"

"Uhhh...nope. No chilli sauce at all. Maybe if we ignore her, she'll stop looking,"

"Hmmm..." Sonic glanced down, staring into Tails' tea cup, "Have you finished your tea?"

"Huh?!"

"Are you done?"

"Well...yes, but..."

Sonic stood up, abruptly, and gestured at Tails, "Come on. I think we've got a grave to visit,"

**(...1931...)**

"I can't believe you wrote my name as a suspect," Shadow muttered, flicking through the contents of Rouge's journal as he lay on their bed. Rouge was sitting at the desk, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Rouge shuffled round to face the black and red hedgehog, "Sorry, Shadow. But you were a suspect. So I'll need to write your name and your alibi for evidence,"

"Hmph," Shadow sat up, stretching his legs out in front of him, "I suppose. However, there is one thing that you've missed,"

"And what is that?"

"Where were _you_ when she fell?"

Rouge gulped, as her hand flew to her neck as she held her heart necklace, "Me? W-w-why would I need to write where I was when..."

"Don't forget, Rouge – we're all suspects," Shadow tossed the journal to one side and gave the bat a long, cold stare, "You need an alibi too,"

"I...I...have an alibi. I was with Knuckles. I didn't see Amy for the rest of the night. We were in the garden. See? Of all the people, you think at I might have a part in Amy's death? Why would I try to find evidence if I was the one who killed her?"

"Okay, okay," Shadow sighed, picking up the journal again and finding the last sentence he read, "I'm sorry. I just had to make sure,"

Rouge nodded and let him get back to reading the journal. She really wished that she didn't have to lie to him.

She hated lying to someone she was so close to.

**(...1972...)**

"I don't understand," Blaze frowned, curiously glancing at Knuckles – who had become guiltily silent, "Everyone seems to be as confused as we are. Rouge doesn't seem to know either. How will reading this help us understand? And why won't you just tell us, Knuckles?"

"It was years ago," Silver added, curling his hand around his cup of tea as they sat at the kitchen table, "Why is she still trying to uncover the truth?"

"We're not dead. We have no idea what it's like. We can't even begin to imagine what she's going through. All I know is the knowledge and memories that are stored in my mind. And I know that you need to read the journal,"

"Why!?"

"You're right. Rouge didn't know either. But she came close to finding out. So very close. Read it. Discover what she knew and then I will tell you. It's easier that way,"

"Okay..." Wearily, Blaze picked up the journal and began to recite the second part.

"**Chapter 2.** _The alibis of the suspects_.

Suspect 1_. Shadow the hedgehog._

_Amy Rose met Shadow at the beginning of a party. She arrived at the scene at 10:36. According to the suspect, they went upstairs at 21:20. The second suspect burst in on them during an intimate moment and Amy chased after the second suspect. That was the last Shadow saw of them_,"

"Rouge went about it in a very...formal way, didn't she?" Silver commented, frowning slightly. He turned to Knuckles for a further explanation and lowered his head.

"Blaze, I once told you that a good friend of mine described Amy as 'beautiful'. That friend was Shadow the hedgehog. We were...we were close. Despite what was going on,"

Blaze quickly glanced at Silver, who looked just as confused as she did, "What was going on, Knuckles?"

"I was the groundskeeper. There couldn't be anything going on between us...it would be seen as wrong. She always joked that it would make an interesting book plot..." Knuckles raised his head, with a lost and thoughtful expression, "I was...having an affair. With Rouge the bat. Shadow and Rouge were married, against their will. Their parents...it would form a good bond between them, or something along those lines. Rouge never liked to talk about it. She didn't get on with her parents,"

"What's this got to do with Amy's death?"

"Rouge and I met up in secret. We...I guess you could say that we were secret lovers. We loved each other. We both always felt guilty about Shadow, but Rouge said it was better if we didn't talk about it. And besides, I think Shadow knew. He knew everything about everything. He was like that. It was one of the things I liked about him, but I would do anything to keep my secret.

But, it was okay that I was with Rouge, because Shadow didn't love her either. They were good friends, granted, but there was nothing romantic between them. I was so surprised when Rouge told me about the relationship between Shadow and Amy. She hinted at things but I thought it was just idle gossip,"

"Were Amy and Shadow also having an affair?" Silver asked, gently. Blaze's gaze shifted to the red echidna, who nodded, weakly.

"No one spoke of it. But we all knew it. Shadow and Amy hadn't done anything until the night she died,"

Blaze glanced at the journal again, feeling sorry for them all. Silver's parents were lovely to her and her parents really liked her husband. They would never have the problems that these four did, "What happened?"

"They danced. People were aghast but they didn't care. They just carried on dancing. Rouge and I weren't there. We were somewhere else. But Amy and Shadow slipped away from the party. According to Shadow, she stopped to get a drink from a discarded cup,"

"Then what?"

"They went upstairs and had sex," Knuckles ignored Blaze's obvious discomfort at the bluntness of his comment, "They were just as much in love as Rouge and I were. But..."

Silver was starting to wonder what the missing link was that Rouge had missed, but Knuckles apparently seemed to know, "But?"

"Another girl. Cream the rabbit. She loved Shadow too, apparently. Amy's best friend. She burst in on them,"

"Cream the rabbit?" The purple cat glanced down at Rouge's book, scanning for the name, "**Suspect 2. **_Cream the Rabbit._ She was also a suspect?"

Knuckles gave another of his wise nods, "Yes. Read on,"

"_Cream's alibi states that she burst in on Amy and Shadow. Cream fled from the room and Amy chased after her, leaving Shadow behind. The two ran to the balcony, because of Cream's love for the night air. They spoke about their feelings and Cream says that Amy seemed to be slightly intoxicated. The second suspect then left the scene, leaving Amy on the balcony, apparently alone_,"

"Yes. That's where Rouge's knowledge about the whole event subsides. She did really well to figure out all of it. Honestly, she cared for Amy so much, but never got a chance to show it while she was alive,"

Silver's quills had become ruffled and tangled, as he kept running his hands through them. A sign which showed he was tense or confused, "I'm even more confused now. Honestly...you've lost me. So, Amy runs after Cream, the rabbit leaves her and no one sees Amy after that? No one sees someone go up to the balcony? And they then just find a body underneath the balcony? Police assume that she fell or it was a suicide and believe it's an open-and-shut case?"

"Exactly," Knuckles reached into the pocket on his beige duffle coat, rooting around and searching something, "But...not everyone was questioned,"

Blaze leapt to her feet, making the two males jump in surprise, "Who? The killer? She was murdered? You're sure?"

"My dear Blaze..." Knuckles slowly dragged his hand out of his duffle coat, with something clutched in his fist, "...you really shouldn't jump to conclusions,"

His fist opened, and inside, laid a golden heart-shaped necklace.

**(...2013...)**

"This is incredible..." Tails muttered, following along after Sonic, still reading, "So, Shadow and Cream were Rouge's suspects? But their stories match up and no one knows how Amy died? Or if it even was a murder?"

"It said she seemed slightly intoxicated. Couldn't she have been drunk?" Sonic sped along the pathway, reading row after row of names of the dead. He refused to let a shiver run through his body, but his bones had become chilled.

"You'd think so...but it says here that Amy never drank alcohol,"

"Maybe...I dunno...she picked up that drink by mistake and it had alcohol in it?"

"One glass wouldn't leave someone from being completely fine to falling off a balcony,"

Sonic halted abruptly, making Tails skid to a halt to avoid bumping into his friend. The silver-grey tombstone was becoming thick with ivy, but after Sonic snapped a few vines off the grave, the writing became clear.

'Amy Rose...1913 to 1931. Gone too soon and sadly missed.'

The pair refused to speak, just for a few minutes, out of respect for the girl. They had been terrified, confused, angry and sad...yet they still felt sorry that Amy had only lived to the age of eighteen when she had so much to live for.

"Sonic..." Tears sprang to Tails' eyes, but he wiped them away with one hand as he sniffed.

The blue hedgehog pulled his friend into his chest, giving him a comforting hug, "It's okay, Tails,"

"Why are we here?"

"There's something I need to do," Sonic pulled back from Tails and crossed his arms over his chest, disapprovingly, "Show yourself! I know you're here! I know you want to know what happened as much as we do!"

Tails, who had been wondering if his friend had gone slightly insane, turned in the direction which Sonic was shouting. Behind the grave yard was a large wood with trees which silhouetted against the sunlight during the day or created dancing shadows at night. There was a rustle of leaves before someone emerged from the trees.

The elderly rabbit, who had been staring at Sonic in the cafe, was hobbling along down the path with a Zimmer frame. She looked far too frail to be strolling through the woods, so Tails assumed that she was following them for a very important reason. Not that he knew what the reason was.

"Sonic? What's going on...?" Tails frowned, waiting as the rabbit approached them, painfully slowly, with a loving smile on her face.

"You look just like him, you know," She told Sonic, still staring at him as if she'd known him for the whole of her life, "I thought you were him. I hoped you were him. And I thought he'd come back to...to...ahhh. It doesn't matter. You're not him. He's not here,"

"I don't understand..." Tails glanced between the rabbit and Sonic, who had a sympathetic smile plastered on his face, "Who? Sonic? How do you two know each other?!"

"It's alright, sweetheart," The woman soothed, placing a hand on Tails' tense shoulder, "I should introduce myself properly,"

"May I?" Sonic asked, only continuing when he received a nod from her, "Tails, this is Cream the rabbit,"


End file.
